The $500 Million Fraud Case Exposing Football’s Shaky Finances
777 Partners acquired stakes in seven clubs and got close to buying Everton. Its co-founder and finance director have now been charged with fraud.
Joshua Wander, co-founder of 777 Partners, departs federal court in New York on Oct. 21.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergJoshua Wander already owned a fleet of Boeing 737s and stakes in famous European football teams. But there were bigger deals on the horizon — if the Miami-based investor could show he had enough money.
The trouble was that his investment firm, 777 Partners, had less than $500,000 in cash and was close to bankruptcy, according to details from court filings released by federal prosecutors in New York. So, Wander sent his creditor a screenshot of a bank account, doctored using Microsoft Paint, to show he had $8 million instead, prosecutors allege.