The LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer have been accused of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap through a $28 million “no-show job” for star player Kawhi Leonard through a “fraudulent tree-lanting company,” according to reports.
Pablo Torre, a podcaster and former ESPN contributor, reported Wednesday that Ballmer allegedly funneled money to Leonard through Aspiration, a now-defunct socially conscious banking and investment firm once valued at $2.3 billion that is now under fraud investigation by the federal government.
Ballmer, one of the wealthiest men in the world and a former Microsoft CEO, invested $50 million in Aspiration on Sept. 14, 2021, Torre said on his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.
Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a "no-show job" with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.
"It was to circumvent the salary cap," an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025
Our full episode, btw, is a full-length documentary about how two Democratic politicians from Harvard are behind a $2.3B scheme centered around climate change.
They had a key donor: the richest owner in sports.
They hired Drake, Leo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr…
And, secretly: https://t.co/Id6K9z10FS
— Pablo Torre ????️ (@PabloTorre) September 3, 2025
Aspiration was co-founded by prominent Democrats Andrei Cherny and Joe Sanberg.
A shockingly good story from @pablofindsout
Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the seventh richest man in the world, engaged in what looks like money laundering to get around the NBA salary cap. He invested in an 'eco-friendly bank' called Aspiration started…
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) September 3, 2025
The firm billed itself as an “eco-friendly bank” and sought to profit from climate initiatives. The company had several celebrities among its investors, including Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert Downey Jr., according to TechCrunch.
A Department of Justice news release said Sanberg “personally recruited companies and individuals to sign letters of intent with Aspiration in which they committed to pay tens of thousands of dollars per month for tree planting services. Sanberg used legal entities under his control to conceal that these payments came from Sanberg rather than from the customers.”
“Aspiration booked revenue from these customers between March 2021 and November 2022, but Sanberg did not disclose that he was the source of the payments. As a result, Aspiration’s financial statements were inaccurate and reflected much higher revenue than the company in fact received,” according to the DOJ release.
On Sept. 27, 2021, less than two weeks after Ballmer’s investment in Aspiration, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with the company in a deal that included sponsorships.
According to Torre, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement contract with Aspiration in April 2022 through his LLC, KL2 Aspire.
That agreement came just nine months after Leonard inked a four-year, $176.3 million deal to remain with the Clippers, ESPN reported.
That deal was the maximum allowed at the time under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Internal documents obtained by Torre stated Leonard’s Aspiration contract would be voided if he left the Clippers.
The documents also said Leonard could “decline to proceed with any action desired” by Aspiration and still be paid.
One unnamed Aspiration employee told Torre the arrangement “was to circumvent the salary cap.”
A statement by the Clippers to ESPN flatly denied the allegations. “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary-cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the statement proclaimed.
The team said Torre’s reporting was false and that the Clippers ended their relationship with Aspiration during the 2022-23 season, “when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations.” Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March.
“Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation,” the statement said.
The NBA did not immediately respond to an ESPN request for comment on Torre’s allegations.
Sanberg pleaded guilty last week to two counts of wire fraud, according to the DOJ. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
Cherny was not charged in the DOJ investigation. He left Aspiration in 2022 and is now organizing “Project 2029” with Neera Tanden, who served as senior adviser to former President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023.
Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million extension in January to remain with the Clippers through 2027.
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