Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by Aspirations Investors for fraud

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being sued by 11 former investors in sustainability firm Aspiration Partners.

Ballmer was added this week as a plaintiff in an existing civil suit against Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sunberg and several others associated with the now-defunct company. Ballmer and the other plaintiffs are accused of fraud and aiding and abetting, the plaintiffs are seeking at least $50 million in damages.

“This is an action to recover millions of dollars that the plaintiffs were directly or indirectly defrauded of investing in CTN Holdings, Inc. (‘Catona’), formerly known as Aspiration Partners, Inc.,” reads the lawsuit, which was initially filed July 9 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Central District.

Attorney Skip Miller said his firm, Miller Barondis LLP, filed an amended complaint Monday to add the billionaire team owner and his investment firm, the Ballmer Group, as defendants in light of recent allegations that a $28 million deal between the Aspirations and Clippers star Kawhi Leonard helped the team avoid the NBA’s salary cap.

“Ballmer was the perfect deep-pocketed accomplice to fund Katonah’s flagging operations and legitimize Katonah’s carbon credit trading,” says the amended complaint, seen by The Times. “Since Ballmer had publicly promoted himself as an advocate for sustainability, Katona was the perfect vehicle for Ballmer to stealthily eliminate the NBA’s salary cap while supporting the company as a legitimate environmental investor.”

Although Ballmer invested millions in Aspiration, it is unclear whether he was aware of or played a role in facilitating the company’s deal with Leonard. The Times reached out to the Clippers for comment from Ballmer or a team representative but did not immediately receive a response.

CTN Holdings filed for bankruptcy in March and is no longer in operation, according to the lawsuit.

In late August, Sanberg agreed to plead guilty in federal court to a scheme to defraud investors and creditors of more than $248 million. On September 3, investigative journalist Pablo Tor reported on his podcast that after reviewing numerous documents and conducting interviews with former employees of the now-defunct company, he found no evidence of Leonard’s marketing or endorsement work for the company.

This was known to the plaintiffs by their amended pleadings.

“Balmer’s purported status as a legitimate investor in Katona was material to the plaintiffs’ decision to invest in Katona and/or retain their investments,” the complaint states.

It also says that “Sanberg and Ballmer never told the plaintiffs that Ballmer had injected millions of dollars into Katonah that allowed Ballmer to allow Leonard to violate NBA rules and keep Katonah’s failing business financially viable. 2025, by journalist Pablo Tor.”

Miller said in a statement to the Times: “Many people, including our client, have been seriously harmed in this case. This case is being brought to redress their losses. I look forward to our day for justice.”

The NBA announced an investigation into the matter in early September. Speaking at a forum hosted by the Sports Business Journal that month, Ballmer said he “feels pretty confident … that we respect him. [by] So I welcome the investigation that the NBA is doing.

The Clippers said in a statement at the time: “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers violated the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any claim to the contrary is patently false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration had fulfilled its obligations.”

“Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer were aware of any wrongdoing by Aspiration or its co-founder until the government began investigating it.”

Leonard has also denied involvement in any wrongdoing related to his dealings with the now-defunct company. Asked about the opening of training camp during the Clippers’ media day on Sept. 29, Leonard said, “I don’t think it’s right” that he didn’t provide endorsement services to the company. He added that he has not been paid all the money from the deal.