777 Partners founder Josh Wander pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to a fraud scheme prosecutors put at more than $500 million.

A guilty plea is an admission in court, and it is a conviction on the counts Wander pleaded to. It is not yet a sentence. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years, but the judge will decide the actual term on March 1. The case drew global attention because 777 Partners had bought stakes in European soccer clubs and failed in a 2024 bid for England's Everton.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Joshua Wander, 45, of Florida, the founder and former chief executive of 777 Partners, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken in Manhattan. As part of the plea, Wander agreed to forfeit at least $500,000,000. The Associated Press reported he also agreed to pay $500 million in restitution and will remain free on bail until sentencing.

According to the indictment and other public filings described by prosecutors, Wander ran a multi-year scheme to defraud 777 Partners' lenders and investors of more than $500 million. Prosecutors said the firm's original business financed structured settlements, and that as Wander pushed into airlines and professional sports, he pledged to lenders structured settlement assets the firm had never bought or had already pledged elsewhere. Prosecutors also said he directed employees to digitally alter bank statements to show millions of dollars in cash the firm did not have, and that he misrepresented the company's finances while raising more than $200 million in outside investment in 2021 and 2022.

The Associated Press reported that Wander admitted during the plea hearing to borrowing money in 2021 and 2022 based on numbers that exaggerated assets, and told the judge, "At the time that I did these things I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I am deeply sorry for my conduct." The AP said 777 Partners had owned stakes in an Australian airline and in soccer clubs including Hertha Berlin, Genoa, Standard Liege and Vasco da Gama, and that its 2024 effort to buy Everton collapsed as questions about the business mounted. Prosecutors said Wander resigned as CEO in 2024.

Wander is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Oetken on March 1, 2027. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and prosecutors noted that any sentence will be determined by the judge. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The guilty plea resolves the counts Wander admitted; it is not a finding about anyone else connected to the firm. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.