777 Partners founder pleads guilty to $500 million fraud scheme

Joshua Wander, founder and former CEO of Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud in a scheme to defraud the firm’s lenders and investors of more than $500 million, federal prosecutors said Thursday

Wander agreed to forfeit at least $500 million in proceeds from the scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 1, 2027, in federal court in Manhattan.

777 Partners initially focused on underwriting and financing structured settlements, which provide recipients with payments over time rather than a single lump sum. The firm later expanded into other sectors, including airlines and professional sports teams.

Prosecutors said Wander used funds restricted for the firm’s structured-settlement business to cover acquisitions and other expenses.

Prosecutors detail fraudulent assets and records

According to prosecutors, Wander pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in structured-settlement assets that 777 Partners either had never purchased or had already pledged to other lenders.

He also directed employees to digitally alter bank statements to make the firm appear to have more cash than it actually held, prosecutors said.

In 2021 and 2022, Wander raised more than $200 million from outside investors through preferred-equity offerings involving 777 Partners and an affiliated company. Prosecutors said he misrepresented the firm’s financial condition to secure the investments.

In March 2022, Wander sought a $20 million loan and provided the lender with dozens of altered bank statements, prosecutors said. He also spent millions of dollars on options trades using misappropriated funds.

The scheme began to unravel in March 2023, when a lender questioned Wander about assets pledged to multiple lenders. Prosecutors said Wander blamed the issue on an error involving the firm’s computer system and later claimed the double-pledging was inadvertent. He resigned as CEO in 2024.

SEC filed separate investor-fraud case

The guilty plea follows a separate civil enforcement action filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2025. The SEC charged Wander, 777 Partners co-founder Steven Pasko, former Chief Financial Officer Damien Alfalla and associated companies in connection with an alleged $237 million preferred-equity offering.

The SEC alleged that investors were misled about the companies’ financial condition and their ability to pay promised dividends. The civil case is separate from the criminal charges to which Wander pleaded guilty.

Wander pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken. Each offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though the judge will determine the sentence.

The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the criminal case, with assistance from the SEC. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

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This report compiled by InsuranceNewsNet staff.