(Bloomberg) -- A private pilot for billionaire businessman Joe Lewis avoided prison for tax evasion tied to the insider trading case against his boss.
US Air Force veteran Bryan ‘Marty’ Waugh was instead sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation by US District Judge Jessica Clarke. Prosecutors had not asked for prison time for Waugh, though the tax evasion charge carried a maximum sentence of five years.
Lewis, Waugh and another private pilot, Patrick O’Connor, were charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors in July 2023 and subsequently pleaded guilty.
The billionaire founder of Tavistock Group admitted to passing Waugh and O’Connor sensitive information about companies in which he had stakes. Most notably, in 2019, Lewis loaned the men $500,000 each to purchase shares in Mirati Therapeutics after learning the company was poised to announce the positive results of a clinical trial.
Less Culpable
Lewis and O’Connor were also spared from prison in their respective sentencing hearings earlier this year. Lewis was similarly sentenced to three years’ probation and also ordered to pay a $5 million fine.
Clarke said Waugh seemed less culpable than Lewis and O’Connor, noting that prosecutors hadn’t shown that he knew he was trading on inside information in most instances. Waugh denied the insider trading charges, which were dropped as part of a plea deal. The tax evasion charge related to about $488,000 in unreported compensation from Lewis.
Addressing the judge in federal court in New York, Waugh said he was profoundly sorry for his conduct.
“I vow to wake up tomorrow a better man than yesterday, and there is zero chance I will commit this crime or any other crime ever again,” he said.
On top of the probation, Clarke also ordered Waugh pay a $25,000 fine. The Internal Revenue Service is also seeking about $333,000 in penalties from Waugh, his attorney Patricio G Martinez Llompart said.
The case is US v. Lewis, 23 cr 00370, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
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