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LOS ANGELES — A federal judge sentenced Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg, whose now-bankrupt green banking company is at the center of an NBA investigation into the LA Clippers, to 14 years in federal prison Monday.
Sanberg previously pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud after prosecutors mentioned he defrauded investors and lenders out of $248 million by fraudulently obtaining loans, falsifying bank and brokerage statements, and concealing that he was the source of some revenue booked by the company. Each count carried a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors sought a prison sentence of 212 months — nearly 18 years — while Sanberg’s lead attorney, Marc Mukasey, argued that a prison sentence would be “too severe.”
Mukasey instead advocated for a punishment that would avoid any time behind bars for Sanberg, saying that Sanberg displayed “no malice, no ill will, no greed” in his actions and that he was not an outlaw but “a good person who did a bad thing.”
Judge Stephen V. Wilson, who has been a federal judge since 1985, disagreed.
In a federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, in front of people who mentioned they had been defrauded by Aspiration and specifically by Sanberg, Wilson mentioned the circumstances of Sanberg’s actions were “among the worst I’ve ever seen” in his career on the bench before adding that “this case has touched almost every badge of fraud.”
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Though Mukasey mentioned Sanberg avoided personal gain in his actions and instead sought to support the company and fuel his altruistic aims, Wilson again disagreed.
“[Sanberg] portrays himself as a do-gooder who was in business to help the world,” Wilson mentioned, “but he did personally gain from his fraud.” Wilson added that Sanberg “hurt a lot of people” and “became greedy, brazen, callous” and “entangled in a web of lies” that continued for years.
Mukasey had previously tried to downplay the level of fraud committed by Sanberg, but Wilson disputed that claim.
“I would put the grade of his fraud at the zenith,” Wilson mentioned.
Before he was sentenced, Sanberg addressed the court, saying he was “deeply sorry for the harm” he had caused while apologizing for his “terrible judgment,” which he mentioned was due to his zeal to help the company succeed.
“I accept that I lost my moral compass and wrongly stepped over the line, and I’m very sorry,” Sanberg mentioned, later adding, “I broke the law.”
In closing, Sanberg mentioned, with his voice breaking, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
In 2013, Sanberg co-founded Aspiration, an environmentally conscious digital bank that drew backers including Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom and Leonardo DiCaprio and partnered with the likes of Meta and Microsoft.
Aspiration revealed a 23-year, $300 million endorsement deal with the Clippers in September 2021 and a $28 million deal with star Kawhi Leonard in April 2022. Podcaster Pablo Torre, citing internal documents and an interview with an unnamed Aspiration employee, stated that Leonard’s sponsorship deal with the company was to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap, prompting the league to launch its investigation.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who invested $60 million of his own in Aspiration, denied he had knowledge of Leonard’s deal or that he directed the company to strike one.
Ballmer’s attorney sent a letter to Wilson, advocating against any leniency and asking for a sentence that would deter others from committing similar fraudulent schemes. The letter stated that Ballmer was “flagrantly defrauded” by Sanberg and lost the entirety of his $60 million investment in the company, and that Sanberg targeted Ballmer for his wealth and passion for environmental sustainability while using his relationship with Ballmer to attract other investors.
Sanberg spoke to the NBA’s investigators as part of its probe, according to an April 17 letter to Wilson by David Anders, the Wachtell Lipton attorney leading the league’s investigation.
In the brief letter, which represented the NBA investigator’s first public comments about the inquiry, Anders mentioned Sanberg sat for two in-person interviews and provided documents and, via his lawyers, “information that was relevant to our investigation.”
Anders continued, “In all our dealings with Mr. Sanberg, both directly and through his counsel, he provided information that was consistent with our review of contemporaneous documents and other evidence. Mr. Sanberg’s cooperation substantially assisted our investigation, including our ability to develop a more complete understanding of key events.”
During Monday’s hearing, Mukasey characterized some of Sanberg’s decisions as “stupid.”
Wilson, once again, disputed that framing and mentioned Sanberg had attended Harvard and appeared to be “charming and engaging.”
The judge added, “That doesn’t sound like a stupid man.”
Mukasey declined comment following the hearing.
As part of his sentence, Sanberg will be on supervised release for three years following his prison term. His voluntary surrender date is Aug. 17.
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