拉里·诺伊迈斯特 纽约 — 一位美国商人因其公司投资的几家欧洲足球俱乐部在其所有权下陷入困境，周四在纽约认罪，承认欺诈指控，并同意偿还该计划造成的5亿美元损失。
LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK — An American businessman whose firm invested in several European soccer clubs that struggled under its ownership pleaded guilty to fraud charges Thursday in New York and agreed to pay back $500 million in losses caused by the scheme.
45岁的乔希·旺德尔是总部位于迈阿密的投资公司777 Partners的联合创始人，他在曼哈顿联邦法院对电信欺诈和证券欺诈指控认罪。
Josh Wander, 45, a co-founder of Miami-based 777 Partners , an investment firm, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to wire fraud and securities fraud charges.
在认罪过程中，旺德尔承认，他在2021年和2022年基于夸大资产的数据借款。
During the plea, Wander admitted to borrowing money in 2021 and 2022 based on numbers that exaggerated assets.
“我当时做这些事情时，我知道自己在做什么是错误的，我对自己的行为深感抱歉，”他对J·保罗·奥特肯法官说。
“At the time that I did these things I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I am deeply sorry for my conduct,” he told Judge J. Paul Oetken.
法官将量刑定于3月1日，届时旺德尔将继续保释待审，可能面临最高40年监禁。旺德尔同意向投资者支付5亿美元的赔偿金。
The judge set sentencing for March 1, when Wander, who will remain free on bail, could face up to 40 years in prison. Wander agreed to pay $500 million in restitution to investors.
旺德尔的公司777 Partners在2021年大举进军足球领域，收购了在COVID-19疫情期间因空场比赛而陷入财务困境的俱乐部股份。
Wander’s firm had moved heavily into soccer in 2021, buying stakes in financially distressed clubs recovering from playing in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic.
该公司777 Partners持有澳大利亚一家航空公司的股份，以及德国的赫塔柏林、意大利的热那亚、比利时的标准列日和巴西的瓦斯科达伽马足球俱乐部的股份。
The company, 777 Partners, owned stakes in an Australian airline plus soccer clubs Hertha Berlin in Germany, Genoa in Italy, Standard Liege in Belgium and Vasco da Gama in Brazil.
2024年，旺德尔和777 Partners在其最大的足球收购尝试中失败，未能收购九次英格兰冠军埃弗顿，因为随着一家总部位于伦敦的投资者在纽约提起诉讼，人们对该公司的业务提出了质疑。
In 2024, Wander and 777 failed in their biggest soccer quest, unable to buy nine-time English champion Everton as questions about the business arose as a London-based investor filed a lawsuit in New York.
777的故事成为全球多俱乐部所有权趋势中可能出现问题的一个例子——投资者在不同国家的多家俱乐部持有股份。欧洲足球管理机构欧足联已将这一趋势视为对比赛诚信以及每年价值超过100亿美元的球员交易产业的威胁。
The 777 story became an example of what can go wrong in the global soccer trend of multi-club ownership — investors taking stakes in several clubs in different countries. European soccer body UEFA has identified the trend as a threat to the integrity of games and the player trading industry worth more than $10 billion each year.
检方称，Wander 利用 777 Partners 通过质押其公司并不拥有的资产、伪造银行对账单以及对公司财务状况作出其他重大失实陈述，骗取私人贷款人和投资者数亿美元。
Prosecutors said Wander used 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 the firm’s financial condition.