Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of federal fraud charges Monday in Los Angeles. Sanberg is at the heart of the NBA\u2019s investigation of the Los Angeles Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and star Kawhi Leonard, and whether they used an endorsement deal with Aspiration to circumvent the league\u2019s salary cap rules.<\/p>\n
Sanberg co-founded Aspiration, the California-based fintech and carbon offsetting company that filed for bankruptcy last spring. Sanberg, according to the Department of Justice, defrauded company investors by falsifying Aspiration\u2019s financial statements and, along with another Aspiration board member, Ibrahim AlHusseini, also fraudulently obtained $145 million in loans from two banks. AlHusseini pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of misinformation out there about Joe Sanberg,\u201d Marc Mukasey, an attorney for Sanberg, said. \u201cAt the appropriate time, in a proper legal filing, we will provide a full picture of who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanberg, as an Aspiration board member, pushed for the company to give Leonard a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal<\/a> for which Leonard never did anything. He also gave Leonard $20 million in company equity.<\/p>\n The NBA has hired white-shoe law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to investigate the claims.<\/p>\n