BOSTON — A 2023 whistleblower complaint to the SEC accused Aspiration of fraudulently misusing funds to assist the LA Clippers circumvent salary cap restrictions to pay star Kawhi Leonard “an incentivized bonus,” according to a new report by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.
Broadcasting live from the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the podcast shared screenshots of the complaint, but did not report if the SEC verified the whistleblower’s account. The SEC brought charges against Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg last year, alleging Sanberg committed fraud in how he presented the company’s finances. Those charges did not mention the Clippers.
The NBA is currently investigating allegations that the Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer, paid Leonard millions of dollars more than they were allowed to under league salary cap rules through a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a California-based environmental company. Sanberg also personally gave Leonard $20 million in Aspiration equity. Leonard never appeared in any marketing campaigns for the company. Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, the same month the U.S. Department of Justice charged Sanberg with fraud. Leonard, through an LLC, was listed as a creditor for $7 million.
Sanberg pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges last year and is awaiting sentencing. The SEC’s investigation into Aspiration is ongoing, according to “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”
Ballmer was a prominent investor in Aspiration. He invested $50 million into the company in December 2021 and another $10 million in March 2023, by which point the company was in distress and burning money. An investor who deposited that sum into the company at that time is described by the SEC in its complaint as having been duped by Sanberg and numbers the SEC said were artificially inflated.
Leonard signed with the Clippers in 2019 after winning a title with the Toronto Raptors and re-signed in 2021 and 2024.
According to “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration began on April 4, 2022, the same day that the Clippers purchased $32 million in carbon credits from Aspiration. On June 30, 2022, Kawhi received his first endorsement payment. That same day, Aspiration received approval from the Clippers to access the $32 million, which had been placed in escrow.
The NBA hired the New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to investigate the accusations in September, and its investigation is ongoing. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month the Clippers have cooperated with Wachtell.
“I haven’t come to any decisions whatsoever yet on the Clippers’ matter,” he said at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.
“It’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed. I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is ‘Do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office,’ and that’s where things now stand.”