Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg, who has cooperated with an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers possibly circumventing the salary cap via a no-show endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson’s sentencing follows Sanberg pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors recommended that Sanberg, 46, be sentenced to 17 years and eight months in prison. His attorneys urged a more modest penalty given what they described as his genuine interest in changing business practices that are harmful to the environment.
Sanberg orchestrated a scheme to defraud lenders and investors of more than $248 million between 2020 and 2025. The scheme included fake clients, sham payments and concealed financial documents, with Sanberg’s victims duped by his “vision of environmentally conscious fintech.”
Described by federal prosecutors as a “serial fraudster” who built “an empire and a fortune based on lies,” Sanberg is a complicated figure for the NBA to rely on, given his criminal acts and lack of veracity.
Yet Sanberg could prove central to any findings that the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer broke NBA rules.
