Tottenham linked billionaire Joe Lewis faces potential jail time if found guilty after he was charged with orchestrating an insider trading scheme – here are eight club owners who were locked up

Tottenham Hotspur linked billionaire Joe Lewis could face jail time if found guilty after handing himself over to authorities in the US.

Lewis, 86, has pleaded not guilty to alleged insider trading after he was charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy for alleged crimes between 2013 and 2021.

The Brit billionaire, whose family trust owns Tottenham, was indicted on Wednesday which the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced via a Twitter post.

Prosecutors have accused Lewis of slipping confidential stock tips to his romantic partners, friends and private pilots, in order for them to profit and make millions of dollars.

It is alleged Lewis exploited his entrée to different corporations to reap lucrative secrets, passed them on to people in his own inner circle and urged them to trade based on the knowledge.

Tottenham have insisted the situation is “a legal matter unconnected with the club”. Here Daily Star Sport looks at eight football owners who faced time behind bars.

Owen Oyston – Blackpool

In 1996, Blackpool owner Owen Oyston was jailed for six years for rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl. Oyston served half his sentence and sold the Tangerines in 2019 after years of fan unrest.

Andy Pilley – Waterford FC and Fleetwood Town

The 52-year-old owner of Irish side Waterford and Fleetwood Town was found guilty of two counts of running his energy business with intention of defrauding creditors. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2023.

Thaksin Shinawatra – Manchester City

Before Sheikh Mansour, City were owned by Thai billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, but he sold the club in 2008 after he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in absentia for corruption. He remained in self-imposed exile in Dubai for years after.

Carson Yeung – Birmingham City

Just three years after Birmingham City lifted the League Cup, Hong Kong national Carson Yeung was sentenced to six years in prison for laundering £55.4million through his bank accounts.

The eccentric Italian was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of tax fraud. The former Italian Prime Minister was also convicted of soliciting a prostitute in 2013.

Bernard Tapie – Marseille

Tapie was Marseille’s president when the club won its tainted Champions League in 1993. After he was found guilty of match-fixing Marseille were stripped of their Ligue 1 title, relegated to Ligue 2 and kicked out of the Champions League whilst Tapie was sentenced to eight months in jail.

Uli Hoeness – Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich legend and former president Hoeness was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for tax evasion in 2014. He was released halfway through his sentence and has returned to Bayern as an executive.

Gigi Becali – Steaua Bucharest

Madcap Steaua Bucharest owner was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for corruption, kidnapping and match-fixing via bribery in 2013. He still remains the Romanian side’s owner to date.