How Josh Wander went from almost buying Everton to being charged with £372m fraud
Josh Wander has been charged with defrauding lenders and investors of more than £372million.
777 Partners attempted to purchase Everton from Farhad Moshiri in 2023, but their attempts ultimately proved unsuccessful.
The investment firm, led by Wander, had looked to be in the final stages of completing a takeover of the Premier League club before the deal collapsed.
The Friedkin Group stepped in to buy Everton following the collapse, and the Toffees will be glad they did.
David Moyes was re-hired by Everton under their new ownership at the start of the year, and the Blues have been on an upwards trajectory since.
Josh Wander charged in £372m case
Despite appearing as the face for much of the process to purchase Everton, Wander was removed from 777 Partners’ football board in May of 2024.
The situation prompted confusion and suspicion, with Everton fans ultimately being glad to have avoided the murky-appearing ownership.
777 Partners owns stakes in several clubs throughout Europe, and has held majority ownership over Genoa, Vasco da Gama, Standard Liege, Red Star FC, Melbourne Victory and Hertha BSC.
The firm were keen to add Everton to that portfolio, until the deal, that had been agreed with Moshiri, failed to pass the Premier League’s proofing process.
Questions were often asked about 777 Partners’ financial situation, with some making the suggestion that the firm has been haemorrhaging money from their football clubs.
In October 2024, those questions came to the fore when 777 Partners entered bankruptcy and collapsed.
And on Friday, co-founder Wander was charged in Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud, which could land him with a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
US attorney Jay Clayton said: “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.”
Everton have dodged an almighty bullet
Several of the clubs owned by 777 Partners have faced huge protest from the fans in recent years.
Last year, fans of Belgian side Standard Liege were forced to postpone their league game after a group of fans protested by blocking the team coach from reaching the stadium.
| Everton ownership – timeline | Date |
| Moshiri agrees to sell majority stake to 777 Partners | September 2023 |
| 777 Partners’ deal to buy Everton collapses | June 2024 |
| Friedkin Group agrees deal to buy Everton | June 2024 |
| Friedkin Group fail to complete deal | July 2024 |
| John Textor granted period of exclusivity to buy Everton | August 2024 |
| Friedkin Group resume talks to buy Everton | September 2024 |
| Friedkin Group complete majority takeover of Everton | December 2024 |
The Belgium top-flight side had been placed under a transfer embargo, amid legal and financial worries relating to the club’s ownership.
That future could have been Everton’s too. Luckily, the deal that would have seen Wander and 777 Partners take over collapsed, but Friday’s news will provide a shock that it came so close to completion.
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