British multi-billionaire Joe Lewis – principal owner of Tavistock Group, the developer and owner of several elite golf courses in Florida and the Bahamas – pled guilty Wednesday to charges of a securities fraud scheme in federal court in Manhattan.
Prosecutors had charged Lewis, 86, with sharing insider information about the dealings of companies in which he was a large investor. Those who benefitted from the illegal information sharing included personal acquaintances such as romantic partners, assistants, friends and his pilots, according to an original filing by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. The beneficiaries of the non-public information sharing reaped millions of dollars in gains, according to the filing.
Tavistock Group developed several notable golf properties, including Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Orlando and the nearby Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. Many notable golf professionals live at these Central Florida properties, and past residents include Tiger Woods – it was at Isleworth where Woods in 2009 famously crashed into a fire hydrant, landing him in a nearby emergency room.