NBA
Aspiration Co-Founder Joseph Sanberg Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
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All posts by James FoglioUpdated6 minutes ago on October 21, 2025
Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg formally pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes reported late Monday night.
Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2026, at 11 a.m. PST at the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
Joseph Sanberg Defrauded Investors Out Of $248 Million
Sanberg, 46, entered the plea in Los Angeles federal court about six months after prosecutors accused him of participating in a scheme that they said defrauded investors out of $248 million.
His company, Aspiration, offered environmentally focused financial services, including tree-planting services intended to help customers reduce their carbon footprints.
In 2021, the company announced plans to go public through a SPAC deal that was expected to value it at $2.3 billion. The deal, however, was called off in 2022.
Joseph Neal Sanberg, 46, of Orange, co-founder and board member of Aspiration Partners— a financial technology and sustainability services company— was charged today and agreed to plead guilty to a $248M scheme to defraud investors & lenders. Details: https://t.co/lHct0Uz2J7 pic.twitter.com/SVHfVyK4XD
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) August 21, 2025
The feds said Sanberg took steps to make Aspiration look more financially successful than it was, including a letter from Aspiration’s audit committee that falsely stated the company had $250 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Aspiration reportedly had less than $1 million in ready cash, per Kaja Whitehouse of Business Insider.
In March, Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it was reported that Sanberg was arrested and facing felony fraud charges.
NBA Investigating Clippers, Kawhi Leonard
In September 2021, the Los Angeles Clippers and Aspiration announced a $300 million, 23-year sponsorship deal with the NBA franchise, which included signage on the team’s new Inglewood arena and a jersey patch component.
Four months later, Aspiration signed a separate $28 million sponsorship deal with Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
The NBA is investigating whether the Clippers and owner Steve 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 podcaster and journalist Pablo 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.
Clippers Deny Efforts To Circumvent Salary Cap
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Clippers issued an extended denial to Torre’s report:
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap,” the Clippers’ statement reads. “The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration’s co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment.
“After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before defaulting on its contract.
“There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same time. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.
“The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league’s rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation into Aspiration’s blatantly fraudulent activity.”
Torre responded to the Clippers’ claims on X, standing by his reporting and stating that over 3,000 pages of documents and seven sources inside Aspiration back his story.
