British billionaire who heads family that owns Tottenham Hotspur fined $5m and given three-year probation by New York judge

The British billionaire Joe Lewis was spared jail time for his part in a “brazen” insider trading conspiracy on Thursday, and was instead fined $5m and given a three-year probation by a New York judge.

The 87-year-old, who heads the family that owns Tottenham Hotspur, had faced as much as 45 years in prison if convicted at trial. But in a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said Lewis deserved leniency given his age, health issues and the fact that he had voluntarily come to the US to face punishment.

  • meco03211@lemmy.world
    32·
    7 months ago

    fact that he had voluntarily come to the US to face punishment

    This should only count if he didn’t know the outcome before coming. If he’d been in talks with the prosecutor and no jail was already decided, this isn’t some brave surrender.

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
    21·
    7 months ago

    45 years in prison? Best we can do is 5 years probation.

    WTF? I guess if you get away with something long enough or keep it in courts long enough such that you are nearly a corpse anyway, you can avoid spending a day in prison.

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
      4·
      7 months ago

      When the news says something like “as much as 45 years in prison” that’s never the amount that even a poor person would have gotten.

      To get to the maximum statutory sentence, the reporters had to completely ignore the sentencing guidelines.

      This video is talking about Trump, but breaks down how the actual sentencing guidelines work.

  • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
    14·
    7 months ago

    It costs about $5k for a decent lawyer in the u.s. for a minor offense, not including random expenses and fees. It could cost way more depending on the complexity of the case. One trip to jail can bankrupt the average American and it’s entirely up to the discretion of a cop with a highschool education and nearly unlimited immunity.

    Most people can’t even afford to pay bond to get out of jail, so they can lose everything they own. Certain places have “crime free housing” ordinances and the entire household can be evicted and blacklisted from renting in that town based solely on an arrest.

    People didn’t realize that they are on the razors edge and fuck wads like this get to walk away with no consequences.