Los Angeles Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Is Now Part Of The Aspiration Lawsuit Alleging Salary Cap Fraud

The NBA season has been underway for two weeks now, but the league's biggest offseason story won't go away. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being accused of committing fraud alongside a company that was then called Aspiration Partners. Eleven former investors filed a lawsuit against the company; now, Ballmer has been added to that lawsuit, as well.

In the complaint, the investors noted the arrangement was for Ballmer to be an investor in Aspiration, which has since gone bankrupt and renamed as Catona Climate Solutions. In return, Ballmer "would use Catona to secretly funnel millions of dollars to star NBA player Kawhi Leonard." Since the funds were sent through the company, Ballmer could pay Leonard more than what the salary cap allowed.

Back in September, reports emerged that Ballmer conspired with Joseph Sanberg to give a $50 million investment to Aspiration in 2021. Journalist Pablo Torre reported that Leonard was to receive $28 million in cash from Aspiration between 2022 and 2025 and an additional $20 million in stock options. The "no-show" agreement would remain in effect as long as Leonard continued to play for the Clippers over that timeframe.

Luke Hales/Getty Images

Leonard signed with the Clippers in 2019. In 2024, he agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $150 million. Receiving money from another company without doing any work for them would circumvent the salary cap, which is a fraudulent activity.

Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season after undergoing knee surgery and has had several knee injuries since that have limited his availability. He's a six-time All-Star and won two NBA championships and two Finals MVPs, one with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and another with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

The lawsuit further alleges that "Ballmer was complicit in and aided and abetted [co-founder Joseph] Sanberg's fraud for his own self-serving purpose." It also adds, "Absent Ballmer's support, Catona could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein."

Ballmer has continued to maintain his innocence, claiming he got conned by the company. The NBA is also investigating into the situation.

If the league determines the Clippers violated NBA rules, the team could face a fine of up to $4.5 million, the loss of a first-round draft pick, and/or the voiding of contracts or transactions that broke the rules. We won't expect a resolution quite yet, but this is shaping up to be a long season for Ballmer.