British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Joe Lewis, is to be pardoned by President Donald Trump following his 2024 conviction for insider trading.
Lewis, 88, was fined $5 million (£3.8 million) and handed three years’ probation by a New York judge last year after admitting his role in what prosecutors described as a “brazen” scheme to benefit friends, employees and associates. He avoided a custodial sentence after entering a guilty plea, though his company Broad Bay was separately fined $44 million.
Initially, Lewis’s legal team argued that prosecutors had made an “egregious” error in charging him with multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. However, he later changed his plea to guilty after securing an agreement that spared him prison. At the time of sentencing, Lewis told the court: “I made a terrible mistake. I broke the law. I am ashamed, sorry, and I hold myself accountable.”
Judge Jessica Clarke ruled that his personal circumstances did not justify incarceration, imposing probation alongside the financial penalties.
News of the pardon was first reported by the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, with The Guardian confirming that the fines already levied will not be reimbursed to Lewis or his company.
In a statement issued after learning of the pardon, Lewis said: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”
A source close to the family added: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action. Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world, which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward. There is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”
Lewis, born in east London, built a fortune through investments and business ventures, including a major stake in Mitchells & Butlers, one of Britain’s largest operators of pubs, bars and restaurants. He transferred his controlling interest in Tottenham Hotspur to a family trust in 2022, a year before charges were brought against him. The club is now overseen by his daughter Vivienne, his son Charles, and Vivienne’s son-in-law Nick Beucher.
The insider trading case against Lewis was detailed in a 29-page dossier published by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2023. Prosecutors alleged that he shared confidential share tips with close associates, including his private jet pilot and his then-girlfriend, Carolyn Carter, enabling them to profit from stock trades.
Official confirmation of the pardon from the US Department of Justice is expected later this week.
Lewis’s pardon marks the conclusion of a high-profile case that drew international attention, not only because of his wealth and football connections but also due to the scale of the insider trading allegations. For Weatherford-born Lewis, the decision allows him to close a controversial chapter in his long business career and focus on retirement while his family continues to manage his global interests.
