The Guardian: Shareholders of Genoa, Hertha Berlin and other teams were sued by New York for financial fraud

The Guardian reported that Josh Wander, co-founder of 777 Partners, has been sued by New York, accusing him of financial misconduct in a $500 million fraud scheme. The businessman's company has invested in a number of European football clubs that have struggled under his ownership.

The company once held shares in an Australian airline and several football clubs, including Germany's Hertha Berlin, Italy's Genoa, Belgium's Standard Liege and Brazil's Vasco da Gama.

The story of 777 Partners has become a cautionary tale in the trend of multi-club ownership in world football, which UEFA has seen as a threat to the integrity of the game and a player trading industry worth more than $10 billion a year.

Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in an FBI statement on Thursday: "It is alleged that Wander used his investment company 777 Partners to pledge assets that his company did not own, falsified bank statements and made other material misrepresentations about 777's financial condition. , defrauding private lenders and investors, causing them to lose hundreds of millions of dollars."

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

Wander and 777 Partners tried unsuccessfully to acquire Everton, their biggest football target, last year as their business came under increasing scrutiny and faced a lawsuit in New York from a London-based investor.

Wande's company made a big push into the football field in 2021, acquiring shares in a number of clubs that were in financial difficulty and were recovering from playing behind closed doors during the epidemic.

The FBI said Damian Alfalla, the former chief financial officer of 777 Partners, is cooperating with the government and pleaded guilty this week.

Clayton said: "The men and women of the Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to protect our investors and markets."

Another 777 Partner executive, Steven Pascoe, has also been targeted in the SEC's lawsuit filed in civil court on Thursday.