Joseph Sanberg, the co-founder of Aspiration, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, keeping one of the NBA’s strangest Clippers-adjacent stories firmly in the spotlight.
According to ESPN, a federal judge handed down the sentence Monday in Los Angeles. Aspiration, the now-bankrupt green banking company Sanberg co-founded, remains tied to an NBA investigation involving the LA Clippers and a sponsorship arrangement connected to Kawhi Leonard.
The reported numbers are what make this more than a legal sidebar. Aspiration announced a 23-year, $300 million endorsement deal with the Clippers in September 2021. In April 2022, the company also struck a $28 million deal with Leonard. Pablo Torre later reported, citing internal documents and an unnamed Aspiration employee, that Leonard’s deal was designed to circumvent the NBA salary cap. That reporting prompted the league to open an investigation.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has denied knowing about Leonard’s deal or directing Aspiration to make it. ESPN reported that Ballmer, who invested $60 million of his own money in Aspiration, also pushed back hard against leniency for Sanberg. Through his attorney, Ballmer told the court he was “flagrantly defrauded” and lost the entirety of that investment.
There is also a league angle still hanging over the story. David Anders, the Wachtell Lipton attorney leading the NBA’s investigation, wrote that Sanberg sat for two in-person interviews, provided documents and shared information relevant to the probe. Anders said Sanberg’s cooperation helped investigators develop a more complete understanding of key events.
What is still unclear is where the NBA’s investigation lands. Sanberg’s sentence is now official. The Clippers, Ballmer and the Leonard-related questions are still waiting on the league’s final word.
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