US businessman whose firm invested in European soccer clubs pleads guilty to fraud

NEW YORK (AP) — An American businessman whose firm invested in several European soccer clubs that struggled under its ownership pleaded guilty to fraud charges Thursday in New York and agreed to pay back $500 million in losses caused by the scheme.

Josh Wander, 45, a co-founder of Miami-based 777 Partners , an investment firm, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to wire fraud and securities fraud charges.

During the plea, Wander admitted to borrowing money in 2021 and 2022 based on numbers that exaggerated assets.

“At the time that I did these things I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I am deeply sorry for my conduct,” he told Judge J. Paul Oetken.

The judge set sentencing for March 1, when Wander, who will remain free on bail, could face up to 40 years in prison. Wander agreed to pay $500 million in restitution to investors.

Wander’s firm had moved heavily into soccer in 2021, buying stakes in financially distressed clubs recovering from playing in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company, 777 Partners, owned stakes in an Australian airline plus soccer clubs Hertha Berlin in Germany, Genoa in Italy, Standard Liege in Belgium and Vasco da Gama in Brazil.

In 2024, Wander and 777 failed in their biggest soccer quest, unable to buy nine-time English champion Everton as questions about the business arose as a London-based investor filed a lawsuit in New York.

The 777 story became an example of what can go wrong in the global soccer trend of multi-club ownership — investors taking stakes in several clubs in different countries. European soccer body UEFA has identified the trend as a threat to the integrity of games and the player trading industry worth more than $10 billion each year.

Prosecutors said Wander used 777 Partners to cheat private lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars by pledging assets that his firm did not own, falsifying bank statements and making other material misrepresentations about the firm's financial condition.