US BUSINESSMAN JOSH WANDER, WHOSE FIRM INVESTED IN SOCCER CLUBS, INDICTED FOR ALLEGED $500M FROUD

Josh Wander, CEO of the 777 Partners Group, speaks at a press conference on the entry as new investor for Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2023. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, file)
 

NEW YORK (AP) — An American businessman whose firm invested in several European soccer clubs that struggled under its ownership has been indicted in New York on charges of financial wrongdoing in an alleged $500 million fraud scheme.

Josh Wander was a co-founder of Miami-based 777 Partners that 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.

The 777 story became a cautionary tale 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.

“As alleged, Wander used his investment firm, 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 777’s financial condition,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

The indictment charging Wander with wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit those crimes was unsealed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. Most of the charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years.

Wander’s lawyer, Jordan Estes, told The Associated Press on Friday that Wander looks forward “to setting the record straight.

This is a business dispute dressed up as a criminal case,” Estes said in a written statement.

Wander and 777 had failed last year in targeting their biggest capture in soccer, nine-time English champion Everton, amid increasing scrutiny of the business and a lawsuit in New York from a London-based investor.

Reporting about 777’s soccer interests, led by Norwegian soccer magazine Josimar, intensified even before Wander was elected to a board seat at the influential European Club Association, a network of hundreds of teams that shapes the Champions League and other competitions.

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 former chief financial officer at 777, Damien Alfalla, “is cooperating with the government,” the FBI said, and made a guilty plea this week.

“The women and men of the SDNY and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to protect our investors and our markets,” Clayton said.

Another 777 executive, Steven Pasko, also is targeted in a civil law court filing Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It wasn’t immediately clear who is representing Pasko.

 AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

EVERTON ACQUIRED BY U.S. PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM 777 PARTNERS

Reuters 

Everton have been sold to 777 Partners, the struggling Premier League club said on Friday, with the U.S. private equity firm taking over from Farhad Moshiri in a deal reports said was worth more than 550 million pounds ($685 million).

The Miami-based investment fund said it had signed an agreement with British-Iranian billionaire Moshiri to acquire his 94.1% stake in the club. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year, a club statement said.

"We are truly humbled by the opportunity to become part of the Everton family as custodians of the club, and consider it a privilege to be able to build on its proud heritage and values," said Josh Wander, founder and managing partner of 777 Partners.

MANCHESTER UNITED: VICTOR VALDEZ AINGIA STANDARD LIEGE

Spanish international kipa Victor Valdez ameingia timu ya Ubelgiji ya Standard Liege kwa mkopo mpaka mwisho wa msimu...Valdes alikuwa na matatizo na kocha wa Man U Van Gaal na kukaa benchi muda mrefu sana...Kisa eti Vaaldes aligoma kucheza mechi ya mazoezi ndio maana Van Gaal alimweka benchi lakini kuna mambo mengi yalichangia kocha huyo kuchukua hatua kali...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.