President Donald Trump has pardoned British billionaire Joe Lewis. File Photo by Louis Lanzano/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump has pardoned British billionaire Joe Lewis, who pleaded guilty to insider trading last year, the White House said Thursday.
Lewis, a former owner of the Tottenham Hotspur football team of Britain’s Premier League, was sentenced to three years probation and to pay a $5 million fine in April 2024 after pleading guilty in January of that year to two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
The White House confirmed the pardon in a statement to UPI.
“Mr. Lewis admitted he made a terrible mistake, did not fight extradition in the case and paid a $5 million fine,” a White House official said.
“Mr. Lewis is 88 years old and has requested a pardon so that he may receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States.”
Lewis was convicted of sharing information he acquired from business boardrooms and shared with those in his inner circle, including romantic partners, friends and even pilots who flew his private aircraft.
Trump has repeatedly used the powers of the presidency to issue pardons to allies, businesspeople and members of the sporting world.
On his first day in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people charged and sentenced in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He has also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the man who created the infamous Silk Road black-market website, a handful of pro-life activists convicted of obstructing access to abortion clinics, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former MLB star Darryl Strawberry.
Earlier this week, Trump pardoned 77 people who were accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election.
