Trump pardons former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis, who pleaded guilty to insider trading
President Donald Trump has pardoned Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who pleaded guilty last year to federal insider trading charges.
Lewis, whose family remains the majority shareholder of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, was indicted in 2023 over allegations that he plotted for years to abuse his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly shared inside information with romantic partners, associates, private pilots and others.
“Mr. Lewis admitted that he made a terrible mistake, that he did not fight extradition in this case and that he paid a $5 million fine,” a White House official told NBC News on Thursday in a statement confirming the pardon first reported by The Athletic.
The statement said Lewis, 88, who now lives in the Bahamas, “requested a pardon so that he could receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States.”
Lewis’ net worth is $6.9 billion, according to a Forbes estimate.
In a statement provided by Tavistock Group spokesperson Harry Roxburgh, Lewis said: “I am pleased that all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy my retirement and watch my family and extended family continue to build our businesses on the foundation of the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our hallmark. »
A source close to the Lewis family said in a statement that Lewis and his family “are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action.”
Trump recently began issuing pardons again after the White House temporarily paused and sought to tighten its reviews amid concerns the process had become a lucrative business for lobbying and consulting firms during Trump’s second term.
Trump on Monday pardoned his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 76 others linked to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including lawyers Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. The pardons, however, are seen as largely symbolic since none of the individuals have been convicted of federal crimes, which are protected by the presidential pardon power.
Last month, Trump commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos. The New York Republican was expected to serve seven years in prison after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
