Steve Ballmer blasts founder he backed who pleaded guilty to fraud: ‘I was duped and feel silly’

Silicon Valley tends to tolerate a definite magnitude of laminitis exaggeration erstwhile pitching investors, often dismissing it arsenic portion of selling a vision. But immoderate choices transverse the enactment and tin pb to jailhouse clip for founders and ungraded for their investors.

A lawsuit successful constituent is Joseph Sanberg, whose erstwhile high-flying fintech startup Aspiration Partners was backed by a roster of tech celebrities, including erstwhile Microsoft CEO and existent Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer. In August 2025, Sanberg pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts of ligament fraud and defrauding aggregate investors and lenders, the U.S. Department of Justice said successful a property release. Each number carries a maximum condemnation of 20 years successful prison.

Ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Monday, victims were invited to picture their acquisition with Sanberg to the judge. Ballmer did so, and publicly. Ballmer’s lawyers said successful the missive that helium has mislaid money, been vilified, and that the NBA is investigating allegations stemming from the association.

Sanberg co-founded greenish fintech startup Aspiration Partners, which offered what it called sustainable banking services similar recognition cards and concern products that avoided fossil fuels. The startup promised to “automatically works trees with each paper purchase.” In 2021, it announced plans to spell nationalist via a SPAC merger astatine a worth of $2.3 billion, though that transaction ne'er took place.

The DOJ alleged that Aspiration booked and recognized gross from entities held by Sanberg, who made the institution look arsenic if it had a dependable of watercourse of customers and gross that it didn’tt really have. The bureau further alleged helium defrauded investors by showing them a fabricated missive from Aspiration’s audit committee that said the institution had $250 cardinal successful disposable currency and equivalents erstwhile it had little than $1 million. The DOJ alleged that Sanberg, on with a committee subordinate who besides pleaded guilty, falsified fiscal records to get $145 cardinal successful loans.

When Ballmer shared his missive on X, asking the justice to see the harm done to him successful sentencing, helium wrote, “I was duped and consciousness silly astir that. Everyone who believed successful Aspiration, including employees, customers and investors, was besides duped. Everyone is inactive tallying the losses.”

The missive says that Ballmer invested a full of $60 cardinal successful the company, and mislaid each of it. Ballmer was not lone an investor, but had contracted with Aspiration to supply carbon-offsetting programs for the Clippers and its stadium. Aspiration besides became a large Clippers sponsor.

The billionaire said successful the missive that not lone did helium suffer that money, his estimation was negatively affected. He utilized the missive to contradict the reporting of a multi-part bid from famed sports podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out that delved into the narration betwixt the Clippers and Aspiration. The podcast made allegations that Aspiration helped sidestep the wage headdress for a prima Clippers player. Ballmer’s lawyers called those allegations “misapprehension oregon intentional disregard of the facts,” successful the letter.

Ballmer’s missive besides said that arsenic a effect of the relation with this company, the podcast and different nationalist attraction of it, he’s been named successful lawsuits. Meanwhile, the NBA said successful its ain missive regarding Sanberg’s sentencing, that it’s investigating the wage headdress allegations and Sanberg has been providing evidence, ESPN reported.

While the hoops satellite is embroiled successful each of these downstream developments, the connection founders tin instrumentality from it is clear: if 1 fabricates fiscal documents to rise capital, the result volition precise apt beryllium prison.

The Ballmer Group did not respond to our petition for comment.