Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg is scheduled to be sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to charges of fraud in October. Ahead of Sanberg’s sentencing, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had his attorneys send a letter to the judge overseeing the sentencing which detailed all the ways in which Ballmer claimed he was defrauded by Sanberg and Aspiration.
Ballmer’s letter, which spans five pages, details multiple instances in which the Clippers’ owner claimed he was duped by Sanberg. Ballmer called himself “a clear and undisputed victim of Sanberg’s fraud.”
Ballmer said he initially invested $60 million in Aspiration because he believed Sanberg’s statements about the financial viability of the company. He added that he and Sanberg had a “shared interest in sustainability,” which made Ballmer want to invest in Aspiration. The company was billed as a “sustainability-as-a-service” company that would plant trees in order to offset carbon emissions.
The Clippers’ owner claimed he was targeted by Aspiration for his “reputation for integrity, and genuine passion for sustainability.” He then laid out specific agreements he reached with Aspiration, including a $300 million agreement that made Aspiration a founding partner of the Clippers. That agreement eventually fell apart.
Ballmer also detailed financial investments he made in Aspiration, which he claimed he lost due to Sanberg’s fraud.
Near the end of the letter, Ballmer said “most persistent and damaging injury” caused by Sanberg was to Ballmer’s reputation. Ballmer claimed that his reputation has been turned “inside out” thanks to putting his trust in Sanberg.
The Clippers’ owner cited both journalist Pablo Torre’s repeated podcasts digging into Ballmer’s relationship with Aspiration and the NBA’s investigation into the situation as two ways in which his reputation has been negatively affected due to Sanberg.
Pablo Torre revealed Steve Ballmer’s questionable ties to Aspiration
In September, Torre accused Ballmer and the Clippers of using Aspiration as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap in an attempt to pay Kawhi Leonard more money to sign with the team in free agency. Torre performed multiple follow up reports detailing more instances in which Ballmer continued to donate to Aspiration after the government started investigating the company for fraud. The timing of some of those donations seemed to coincide with dates in which Leonard was supposed to be paid by Aspiration.
In the letter sent to the judge, Ballmer dismissed Torre’s reporting as “gossip,” something Torre took issues with on social media Thursday.
🚨 In a new court filing (below), Clippers owner Steve Ballmer dismisses @pablofindsout as “gossip” from a “former talking head and television personality.”
Here is an excerpt from the federal whistleblower complaint, signed by two former Aspiration employees, which described… https://t.co/VnRXtsUMedpic.twitter.com/t4KjkTIVGA
— Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) April 23, 2026
Torre’s initial reports were enough to force the NBA to take action. The league announced in September that it would investigate Ballmer’s relationship with Aspiration. That investigation remains active. Ballmer has consistently claimed he as defrauded by Sanberg and Aspiration and said he welcomed the league’s investigation into the situation in September.
Sanberg has reportedly cooperated with the league’s investigation, which Ballmer called into question in his letter. Given Sanberg’s guilty plea, Ballmer said he did not believe Sanberg should be considered a credible source in that investigation. Ballmer claimed Sanberg was cooperating in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.
Ballmer asked the judge to take all of that evidence into consideration when making a sentencing decision Monday.
