British billionaire Joe Lewis fined $5 million by U.S. judge for insider trading

A U.S. judge ordered British billionaire Joe Lewis on Thursday to pay a $5 million fine and serve three years of probation for sharing illegal stock tips, allowing an investment firm's 87-year-old founder to avoid prison after prosecutors and his attorneys urged leniency.

U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke in Manhattan sentenced Lewis, who pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud.

Lewis, founder of the Tavistock Group, sat flanked by his lawyers as the sentence was imposed, wearing a gray suit and an eye patch. He told the judge he was ashamed of what he had done.

"I am here today because I made a terrible mistake," he said.

The judge agreed that Lewis could leave the U.S. on his private aircraft on Thursday night, though his yacht, the Aviva, will be held until his fine is paid.

"Mr. Lewis is grateful that the court has imposed a probationary sentence that considers his age and health issues," Mark Herr, a spokesperson for Lewis, said after the hearing.

Prosecutors said Lewis, whose family trust controls a majority of London's Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, passed inside information on his portfolio companies to two of his private pilots as well as friends, personal assistants and romantic partners.

Those tips enabled the recipients of the information to reap millions of dollars in profit, according to prosecutors.

Lewis in January entered a plea deal with prosecutors agreeing to a $50 million fine of his Bahamas company, Broad Bay. Under the agreement, Lewis' fine will be included in the total.

He also agreed to resign board seats at U.S. companies and relinquish majority ownership of Boxer Capital, the biotech-focused fund where prosecutors say he got tips.

The London native, who