NBA
Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Sued By 11 Aspiration Investors
James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.
All posts by James FoglioUpdated6 hours ago on November 04, 2025
Eleven former Aspiration investors have sued Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, alleging that he used the company to circumvent the NBA salary cap to pay star forward Kawhi Leonard, according to longtime sports reporter and podcaster Pablo Torre.
Steve Ballmer Allegedly Used Aspiration To Pay Kawhi Leonard
The 133-page lawsuit, obtained by Colin Salao of Front Office Sports, alleges there was an arrangement between Ballmer and Aspiration, now known as Catona Climate, to “secretly funnel millions of dollars to star NBA player Kawhi Leonard.”
Per Salao, the suit was originally filed in Los Angeles on July 9, two months before Torre first reported on Leonard’s $28 million “no-show job” with Aspiration.
Ballmer was added to the lawsuit as a defendant on Monday in the wake of that report.
“It served Ballmer’s interest in getting extra money to Leonard so he could circumvent the salary cap, beat out the competition and re-sign his team’s superstar player,” the plaintiffs state in their suit.
🚨 UPDATE: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by 11 Aspiration investors who allege Ballmer used the company (now named Catona) “to secretly funnel millions of dollars to star NBA player, Kawhi Leonard […] paying him more than allowed by the NBA’s salary cap rules” 🧵 pic.twitter.com/GLnMHNfdWS
— Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) November 4, 2025
“Ballmer was complicit in and aided and abetted Sanberg’s fraud for his own self-serving purpose,” the plaintiffs continued. “Ballmer publicly endorsed Catona and infused over $50 million into the company. Absent Ballmer’s support, Catona could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein.”
The NBA is currently investigating whether the Clippers and Ballmer violated league rules by circumventing the salary cap to compensate Leonard.
The same month that the Clippers announced their deal with Aspiration, Ballmer invested $50 million in the California-based company, according to Torre.
League commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he has “very broad powers in these situations,” so it is unclear whether the Clippers must now prove their innocence, or if the burden of proof is instead on the NBA to find wrongdoing.
Los Angeles Lawsuit Aims To Recoup Losses
The Los Angeles lawsuit is about recouping losses for investors defrauded by Sanberg, who recently pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of wire fraud.
“Plaintiffs allege that Ballmer transferred other funds to Catona to keep the company afloat and buy Sanberg’s support, cooperation and silence about the secret deal with Leonard,” the lawsuit reads, per Torre. “The full extent of Ballmer’s transfers of funds to Catona and Sanberg will be ascertained in discovery.”
Skip Miller, an Aspiration investor also serving as counsel for the plaintiffs, issued the following statement to Torre:
“A lot of people have been hurt here. This lawsuit is being brought to recoup their losses. We look forward to our day in court where everything will be aired out and justice will be done.”
In March, Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it was reported that Sanberg was arrested and facing felony fraud charges.
