Joshua Wander, the founder and former chief executive of 777 Partners, pled guilty to wire and securities fraud on Thursday (15 October).
Wander had previously been charged by the Department of Justice with defrauding investors as the leader of an investment firm that double-pledged assets and falsified records to raise additional capital. As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to forfeit at least $500m in proceeds from his time at the firm.
A federal judge will sentence Wander on 1 March 2027, where he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for both one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud, according to a DOJ press release.
Wander, alongside 777 Partners’ other co-founder and chief financial officer, also faces charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission related to a $237m preferred equity offering.
777 Partners was thrust into bankruptcy earlier this summer, the culmination of years of animosity between the firm and its lenders who had provided the company with more than $2.7bn in funded debt. The bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing, and can be tracked here.
Multiple lenders to 777 Partners, which are involved in litigation against one another, the...
