Josh Wander is the Miami-based co-founder of 777 Partners, a private investment firm that grew out of the structured-settlement business into a portfolio of airlines, soccer clubs, and media ventures before collapsing amid fraud allegations. In October 2025, a federal grand jury in Manhattan indicted Wander on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy, accusing him of defrauding lenders and investors of more than $500 million.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil action the same day, and the firm’s former chief financial officer pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.2SEC. SEC Charges 777 Partners Founders and Former CFO
Who Josh Wander Is
Wander graduated from the University of Florida in 2003. He worked as director of acquisitions at Structured Asset Funding, served as president of First Sustainable LLC, and founded SuttonPark Capital, a company that bought and serviced structured settlements — the installment payment streams created when personal-injury plaintiffs take their awards over time rather than as a lump sum.3Fortune. Everton FC 777 Partners Buyer Fraud Lawsuit
In 2015, Wander and Steven Pasko launched 777 Partners through a management buyout from PennantPark. The core business was underwriting and financing structured settlements, and the firm became one of the largest buyers in that secondary market. Wander negotiated the credit facilities that funded those purchases. Starting around 2018, he pushed capital into higher-profile ventures across aviation, professional sports, streaming, and consumer finance.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme
The Empire He Built
By 2022, 777 Partners had accumulated orders and commitments for as many as 134 Boeing 737 MAX jets and had backed low-cost carriers including Canada’s Flair Airlines and Australia’s Bonza.4Boeing. 777 Partners Expands 737 MAX Fleet Bonza launched in January 2023 and stopped flying in April 2024 after its aircraft were repossessed.5Hall Chadwick. Bonza Aviation Report to Creditors Prosecutors later alleged that aircraft leased to Flair were purchased with funds derived from the fraud scheme.6The Globe and Mail. Flair Airlines Planes Caught Up in 777 Fraud
The firm’s soccer holdings drew even more attention. It owned Italy’s Genoa CFC, acquired in 2021 at an enterprise value of $175 million, and held stakes in Standard Liège of Belgium, Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Red Star FC in France, Hertha Berlin in Germany, Melbourne Victory in Australia, and 15 percent of Spain’s Sevilla FC.7Sportico. 777 Partners Acquires Genoa for $150 Million8Sports Business Journal. 777 Partners Bankruptcy The most visible deal was one the firm never completed. In September 2023, 777 Partners agreed to buy Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1 percent stake in Premier League club Everton FC. The purchase agreement expired on June 1, 2024, after nine months without completion, and Everton went looking for a different buyer.9ESPN. Everton Seek New Buyer as Deal With 777 Partners Collapses During the takeover process, 777 Partners had loaned Everton about £200 million.10The New York Times. Everton 777 Takeover
What Prosecutors Say Wander Did
On October 16, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a four-count indictment charging Wander with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. The three most serious counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; the conspiracy to commit securities fraud count carries a maximum of five years. Wander, then 44, surrendered to federal agents that morning and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme The case, United States v. Wander, No. 1:25-cr-00473, is before Judge J. Paul Oetken.11Midpage. United States v. Wander
The indictment lays out the alleged mechanics. Prosecutors say Wander directed employees to pledge more than $350 million in assets as collateral to lenders, knowing that 777 Partners either did not own those assets or had already pledged them elsewhere. He allegedly ordered employees to digitally alter bank statements to make it look like the firm held millions in cash reserves it did not have. And he allegedly used restricted funds — money meant to serve as collateral for the structured-settlement business — to pay for acquisitions and operating costs at the airlines, streaming ventures, and soccer clubs, including Sevilla FC and Genoa CFC.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme
When one lender confronted Wander in March 2023 about assets that appeared to have been pledged twice, he allegedly blamed the discrepancy on an “antiquated computer system” and told the lender it was an inadvertent error.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme
The SEC’s Parallel Case
The same day the indictment was unsealed, the SEC sued Wander, Pasko, former CFO Damien Alfalla, and the corporate entities in SEC v. Wander, No. 1:25-cv-08565 (S.D.N.Y.). The complaint centers on a preferred equity offering that allegedly raised about $237 million from 13 investors between January 2021 and May 2024. Investors were told the companies earned enough net income to pay a 10 percent annual dividend, according to the SEC, while the businesses were in a worsening liquidity crisis and had overdrawn a key credit facility by $300 million.2SEC. SEC Charges 777 Partners Founders and Former CFO
The agency further alleged that Wander diverted roughly $33 million of investor money that had been promised for general corporate purposes — about $24.9 million to himself and about $8 million to Pasko. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and lifetime bans that would keep all three men from serving as officers or directors of public companies or participating in any securities offering.12SEC. SEC Complaint, Case 1:25-cv-08565
Co-Defendants
Damien Alfalla, 49, of Pelham, New York, served as CFO of both 777 Partners and 600 Partners until his resignation in February 2024. A former New York-registered certified public accountant, he pleaded guilty on October 14, 2025 — two days before Wander’s indictment was unsealed — to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. He is cooperating with the government.13SEC. SEC Administrative Proceeding, Damien Alfalla A consent judgment entered against him on December 16, 2025 permanently barred him from future securities violations and from participating in securities offerings.14CourtListener. SEC v. Wander Docket
Co-founder Steven Pasko was not criminally charged. The SEC alleged he signed investor subscription agreements containing false financial representations, knowing or having reason to know about the $300 million credit facility overdraw. He resigned from 777 Partners’ boards and management on May 6, 2024.12SEC. SEC Complaint, Case 1:25-cv-08565 A judgment was entered against him on April 1, 2026, without admission or denial, that permanently bars him from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, with an exception for his personal accounts.14CourtListener. SEC v. Wander Docket
How the Firm Fell Apart
In May 2024, London-based lender Leadenhall Capital Partners sued 777 Partners in New York federal court, alleging a “yearslong fraud scheme” in which roughly $350 million in pledged collateral for more than $600 million in financing was either not in the firm’s control or had already been pledged to other lenders. Courts issued temporary restraining orders freezing assets.15The New York Times. Everton 777 Partners Lawsuit 777 Partners countersued in Florida, accusing Leadenhall of hiring the firm’s former IT head to illegally access its computer systems and steal data.16Claims Journal. 777 Partners Legal Disputes
In October 2024, the High Court in London issued a winding-up order that formally declared 777 Partners bankrupt with hundreds of millions still owed to lenders.1FBI. Founder and CFO of Investment Firm 777 Partners Charged With $500 Million Fraud Scheme In August 2025, the Delaware Court of Chancery placed the firm in receivership after finding it in contempt for failing to pay Alfalla’s legal fees.17Global Restructuring Review. 777 Partners Hit With Receivership A-CAP, the firm’s largest lender, hired Moelis & Company to sell off the remaining soccer assets.8Sports Business Journal. 777 Partners Bankruptcy
Where the Case Stands
Wander’s criminal case in the Southern District of New York is pending. No trial date has been set on the available record, and no plea has been reported. In the SEC civil case, he filed a motion to dismiss on March 27, 2026, with briefing set to conclude by mid-May 2026. He is now the sole active defendant on the civil side, following the judgments against Alfalla and Pasko.14CourtListener. SEC v. Wander Docket
In June 2026 court filings, Wander said prosecutorial leaks to the media in 2023 destroyed the Everton acquisition and pushed 777 Partners to the brink, and he maintained that the collapse of his firm was not the product of fraud.18The Wall Street Journal. 777 Partners Co-Founder Says Media Leaks Pushed Firm to Brink