Category News

The co-founder of investment firm 777 Partners – which made an unsuccessful bid to buy Premier League club Everton – has been charged with defrauding lenders and investors of more than $500 million (£372m).

Josh Wander, 44, lied and used fake financial documents to inflate the finances of 777, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors in the United States.

A potential deal for 777 to acquire the Toffees fell through in June 2024, before new owners the Friedkin Group bought the club from Farhad Moshiri in December that year.

“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,” said US attorney Jay Clayton.

Special agent in charge Ricky J Patel said the picture put forward of 777’s finances was “an illusion of stability that was a years-long house of cards”.

According to prosecutors, starting in 2018, Wander began investing in “new sectors with less certain cash-flow profiles, including streaming platforms, airlines, and professional sports teams such as Sevilla FC and Genoa CFC”.

They said he did this knowing that the Miami-based group either did not have the funds or had already pledged it to other lenders, and attempted to conceal this.

Wander, of Miami, Florida, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

He is also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Venue: Indonesia Arena, Jakarta, Indonesia Date: 19-25 October

Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth and Jake Jarman hope to use their “good rivalry” to push each other to success at the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Hepworth, who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and reigning vault world champion Jarman will compete on the world stage for individual medals despite being close Team GB team-mates.

“It’s a good rivalry,” Hepworth told BBC Sport. “It’s not toxic in any way and I think that’s what has helped us get to where we are now.

“We just push each other. We are both doing insanely difficult vaults and understand how hard it is to perfect them.”

Jarman will bid to defend his title by building on his performance at May’s European championships, which saw him score a near-perfect 15.2 for his first vault.

He hopes to contain his “excitement” this time round, which he admits affected the execution of his second vault in that competition and cost him his third European vault title.

“That competition was a bit of a learning curve for me,” he said. “It was the first time I had nailed a vault like that in an event final.

“Normally, I tell myself to settle down and bring the energy levels down for the next performance, but that time round it was a bit of a shock.

“I was overwhelmed by excitement, so for my second vault my legs went to jelly and I took a couple more steps than I needed to.

“I need to iron out the smaller mistakes. I have to be a perfectionist when it comes to training these vaults.”

No team competition takes place at the world championships following an Olympics year, so individual medals only are stake.

Jarman and Hepworth are part of a strong six-man team that will compete across all six apparatus in Jakarta.

Three-time European floor champion Luke Whitehouse features, along with Olympian and former parallel bars world champion Joe Fraser, 10-time major championship medallist Courtney Tulloch and Alex Yolshin-Cash, who will compete at his first senior world championships.

In the women’s team, Olympians Ruby Evans and Abi Martin will be joined by British all-around champion Alia Leat and Shantae-Eve Amankwaah, who are making their senior world debuts.

Martin is one to watch for all-around, while Evans prefers floor and vault.

Elsewhere, Ireland’s Olympic pommel horse champion Rhys McClenaghan will miss the competition after undergoing shoulder surgery.

With 11-time Olympic medallist Simone Biles absent from the USA team, veteran gymnasts Leanne Wong, Joscelyn Roberson and Skye Blakely are joined by 17-year-old Dulcy Caylor.

Wednesday, 22 October

12:00-15:30 – Men’s all-around final on iPlayer/BBC Sport website

13:00-15:30 – BBC Two

Thursday, 23 October

12:00-15:30 – Women’s all-around final on iPlayer/BBC Sport website

13:00-15:30 – BBC Two

Friday, 24 October

07:30-12:30 – Individual apparatus finals on BBC Two, iPlayer and BBC Sport website

Saturday, 25 October

Injured Northern Ireland captain Simone Magill is one of several absentees for the Nations League promotion play-off with Iceland.

There is a return for experienced defender Sarah McFadden, fellow defender Toni-Leigh Finnegan, and forwards Kerry Beattie and Casey Howe.

San Diego-born forward Leyla McFarland, who plays for Durham, has earned a first senior call-up, as has Glentoran midfielder Mia Moore.

Laura Rafferty and Ellie Mason join Magill in missing out through injury, while fellow key defender Rachel Dugdale announced her retirement from football in September.

Burnley midfielder Brenna McPartlan is also missing for the play-offs, while the Irish FA said Glentoran’s Demi Vance and Cliftonville defender Kelsie Burrows “both confirmed they were unavailable” for the play-off.

Tanya Oxtoby’s side secured a shot at reaching League A for the first time by finishing second in their Nations League group behind Poland.

Iceland, on the other hand, were third in a League A group containing France, Norway and bottom side Switzerland.

Losing Magill is a blow to Oxtoby, with the Birmingham City forward picking up a hip injury after a strong start to the WSL2 season.

Magill played a key role in Northern Ireland’s second-place finish in their Nations League group and had scored two goals in as many matches for the Blues this season.

After the retirement of Dugdale, and injuries to Rafferty and Mason, McFadden’s return to the Northern Ireland set-up is timely after a long-term injury and the birth of her second child.

The 38-year-old, who has won 106 caps, will provide valuable experience in a youthful defence for the play-off.

Her Durham team-mate McFarland, 25, has earned a first senior call-up after she represented Northern Ireland on several occasions at youth level.

Midfielder Moore, 18, scored 12 goals as Glentoran won the Women’s Premiership title on the final day against rivals Cliftonville.

Left-back Demi Vance, who was a key part of Northern Ireland’s journey to Euro 2022, had fallen out of favour under Oxtoby and had not featured since September 2024.

In May, Vance had said she was “always be fit, ready and available to play” if recalled by Oxtoby, but the IFA said the 34-year-old, along with Cliftonville captain Burrows, had made themselves “unavailable” for the play-off.

Oxtoby said the youthful make-up of her squad for the Iceland play-off was “exciting”.

“We have a very young group this time around who are all very excited to be part of the set-up,” said the Australian.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the background to make sure they feel ready when they come in.

Goalkeepers: Jackie Burns (Calgary Wild), Maddy Harvey-Clifford (Crusaders Strikers), Kate Smith (Lisburn Rangers).

Defenders: Rebecca McKenna (Birmingham City), Rebecca Holloway (Birmingham City), Sarah McFadden (Durham), Toni-Leigh Finnegan (Aberdeen), Abi Sweetlove (Linfield), Natalie Johnson (Nottingham Forest).

Midfielders: Joely Andrews (Hearts), Nadene Calwell (Glentoran), Mia Moore (Glentoran), Aimee Kerr (Glentoran), Louise McDaniel (Burnley), Megan Bell (Linfield), Caragh Hamilton (Nottingham Forest).