Tottenham billionaire owner denies revealing confidential information to make money in the US

British billionaire Joe Lewis has pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to illegally providing confidential information from clinical and pharmaceutical companies to partners and friends, charges for which he is accused in the United States.

Lewis turned himself in on Wednesday morning to US authorities in New York and hours later pleaded not guilty to the charges before federal judge Valerie Figueredo in Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors have accused the 86-year-old businessman and billionaire owner of English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur of giving information to friends, associates, personal assistants and romantic partners from 2019 to 2021.

“(Lewis) used inside information as a way to compensate employees and give gifts to friends and lovers,” Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

According to the indictment, Lewis and his associates were able to collectively make millions of dollars using the “stolen” information.

Information about promising clinical trials

In one case, Lewis learned of promising clinical trial data at the pharmaceutical company Mirati Therapeutics through a hedge fund he controlled.

He then urged a girlfriend, a personal assistant, and two private pilots to buy Mirati shares before the news broke; In the case of the pilots, he lent $500,000 (about 451,456 euros) to each one to allow them to buy more shares.

In addition, according to prosecutors, Lewis told his girlfriend about an upcoming transaction and the results of a clinical trial involving Solid Biosciences, shortly after which she spent $700,000 on company stock.

Prosecutors also charged Lewis with conspiring to make his interest in Mirati appear minor through a series of shell companies, including one allegedly set up for the benefit of his granddaughter; and making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Billionaire's Defense

David Zornow, a lawyer for Lewis who works for the firm Skadden Arps, said in a statement that the government had made “an egregious mistake” in charging Lewis.

“Lewis has come to the US. volunteered to answer these ill-conceived charges and we will vigorously defend him in court,” he added.

Lewis is one of the richest people in Britain, and according to Bloomberg his net worth is more than $6.5 billion.