“Embarrassed” Tavistock founder Joe Lewis avoids prison time

Tavistock Group founder Joe Lewis won’t serve prison time for insider trading, thanks to his age and poor health. 

The 87-year-old British billionaire developer ended up with three years probation and a $5 million fine after pleading guilty to securities fraud charges, the Wall Street Journal reported. The judge in the case said his life would be at “serious risk” if he were incarcerated, citing his age and health status. 

Lewis pleaded guilty to two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in January. Lewis’ investment firm Broad Bay also pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and agreed to pay a $50 million fine, according to the outlet. 

“I am so embarrassed, and I apologize to the court for my conduct,” Lewis said to U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke at the time. 

The octogenarian admitted to tipping off a girlfriend, his private pilots and a poker buddy to information on companies he had invested in, information that federal prosecutors said made the recipients millions in ill-gotten gains. 

Lewis surrendered on the insider trading charges in July. He was released on a $300 million bond he posted with his $250 million yacht and his private plane, and was required to relinquish his passport, the outlet reported. He has been living in Florida and intends to return to his home in the Bahamas when the case is resolved.

Lewis, who has a net worth of $6.3 billion, founded the Tavistock Group in 1975, according to Forbes. His family trust owns a majority stake in London’s Tottenham Hotspurs, one of football’s richest teams. 

His real estate projects include Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale and a controversial development in the equestrian village Wellington. Pier Sixty-Six is a 32-acre waterfront megadevelopment that will include a pair of 11-story condo buildings with 61 total units, a 325-key hotel, a 164-slip deepwater marina, restaurants, retail space, spas and fitness facilities. 

Tavistock launched sales for the second condo building in October, with prices starting at $5.5 million. The project is slated to complete this year.

Lewis is also a backer of The Wellington North and South, a pair of luxury residential developments led by Mark Bellissimo, the head of Wellington Lifestyle Partners. Also backed by Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Justin Timberlake, the project won approval to build in the village’s protected 9,000-acre equestrian preserve in February. –– Kate Hinsche