US prosecutors allege assets were double-pledged as firm channelled restricted funds into acquisitions across sport and beyond.
US prosecutors have charged Josh Wander, co-founder of Miami-based investor 777 Partners, with wire and securities fraud linked to an alleged scheme to defraud private lenders and investors of more than $500m.
On October 16, the Southern District of New York said Wander surrendered to federal agents and was due to appear before Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. Former chief financial officer Damien Alfalla pleaded guilty on October 14 and is cooperating with authorities.
According to the unsealed indictment, prosecutors allege Wander and others misled financing partners by pledging more than $350m in collateral that 777 either did not own or had already pledged elsewhere, falsified bank statements, and misrepresented the company’s financial position while raising capital.
The FBI and the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said the scheme propped up a “house of cards”, with restricted lender funds allegedly diverted to cover acquisitions and operating costs outside the firm’s structured settlements business.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed parallel civil charges the same day against Wander, co-founder Steven Pasko, Alfalla, 777 Partners and affiliate 600 Partners.
Sport in the spotlight
While 777 built its early model around buying and securitising structured settlements, the firm spent heavily from 2018 onwards on a diversified portfolio that included airlines, media and a high-profile multi-club football strategy.
Prosecutors and contemporaneous coverage list interests across European and South American football, including Genoa, Hertha BSC, Standard Liège and Vasco da Gama; reporting also references an interest around Sevilla FC.
777’s proposed takeover of UK team Everton – announced in 2023 – collapsed in 2024 amid mounting financing questions.
The recent filing claims lender money that was supposed to remain ring-fenced for structured settlement collateral and cash reserves was instead used to bankroll “risky acquisitions” and plug operating gaps as liquidity tightened in 2021–2022.
Prosecutors say that when a lender confronted Wander in March 2023 about alleged double-pledged assets, he blamed an “antiquated computer system” and later described the problem as inadvertent. By October 2024, a High Court judge in London issued a winding-up order against a 777 UK entity as the group’s multi-club assets were put up for sale.
What it means for clubs and leagues
The criminal and civil actions escalate scrutiny of leveraged, multi-jurisdiction sports ownership models that rely on complex intercompany loans and external credit.
UEFA and domestic regulators have wrestled with the integrity and financial-sustainability implications of multi-club networks; several clubs linked to 777 have faced fan protests and regulatory oversight amid on- and off-field instability over the past two seasons.
While each club’s governance and debt stack differs, any extended court process in New York could complicate ownership transitions, creditor recoveries and licensing approvals ahead of future seasons.
Wander’s representatives have characterised the matter as a commercial dispute rather than criminal conduct.
As with any US indictment, the charges are allegations until proven in court. The fraud counts carry maximum statutory penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment; sentencing, if any, would be at the judge’s discretion. Alfalla’s cooperation suggests prosecutors aim to broaden the evidentiary base as discovery proceeds.
