Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sends letter to judge detailing misgivings of Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg ahead of sentencing

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.”

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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.

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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.