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Spurs chairman charged

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Joe Lewis has been charged with insider trading in the well-known Southern District of New York.  He is alleged to have showered gifts on friends and lovers: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66274633

The 86-year-old, who is one of Britain’s richest men, is accused of tipping off employees, associates, friends and romantic interests with non-public information about companies in which he had invested, and lending some of them hundreds of thousands of dollars to trade on the knowledge. He has been charged with 19 counts, including securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud and make false statements.

According to the indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, Lewis and his associates were collectively able to make millions of dollars using the stolen information, which included favourable results from clinical trials.

A lawyer for Lewis, David Zornow of Skadden Arps, said in a statement: “The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment. Mr Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”

The currency trader’s profile grew when he took control of Tottenham, buying shares from British businessman Alan Sugar. In 2019, Spurs completed work on a £1.2bn stadium that has increased its revenues, but fans have complained that the club has failed to add much silverware to its trophy cabinet.


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