From the FT
Lewis pleaded guilty to fraud charges in January, following an investigation in which he was found to have passed on stock tips to friends, private pilots and a girlfriend. The recipients made more than half a million dollars by trading on the non-public information, to which Lewis had been privy through his seats on various corporate boards, according to prosecutors.
His crimes carried a suggested sentence of up to two years in prison, but probation officers had advised against incarcerating Lewis, in part because of his advanced age.
In their sentencing recommendation to the judge, US prosecutors — who claimed the tips amounted to gifts and in-lieu payments by Lewis — had acknowledged that “unlike many defendants who commit insider trading, [his] conduct was not motivated by personal profit”, as the billionaire did not himself trade on the information in question.
They added that given Lewis’ deteriorating health, the fact that he has “otherwise lived a law-abiding life” and his voluntary surrender to US authorities meant the suggested sentence would be “greater than necessary” in this case.
After handing down the sentence, Judge Jessica Clarke said while Lewis’s “offence was without a doubt a serious one”, he deserved leniency because he “faced these charges head on instead of engaging in what could have been a lengthy extradition fight”. His life “would be at serious risk if he were to be incarcerated”, she added.