Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been added to a lawsuit that contends the defendants committed fraud by using a sustainability company to pay star Kawhi Leonard off the official NBA books.
The initial suit was filed in July, with the tech billionaire Ballmer added on Monday, Front Office Sports reported.
Eleven former investors of the company, then called Aspiration Partners, contend Ballmer used the business to bypass the league salary cap by channeling millions earmarked for Leonard through Aspiration’s bank accounts.
As a result, Ballmer and Aspiration founders committed fraud and aided and abetted in a fraud that negatively impacted the investors, the plaintiffs contend.
It was reported in September that Ballmer allegedly worked with company co-founder Joseph Sanberg to arrange a $50 million investment in Aspiration in 2021.
Aspiration went bankrupt and later was renamed Catona Climate Solutions. Front Office Sports reported that Ballmer’s investment was a “motivating factor in the plaintiffs either choosing to invest or keeping their investments in Catona,” according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs would not have invested and/or kept their investment in Catona if Ballmer and Sanberg had disclosed the true nature of Ballmer’s investment,” per the revised lawsuit. “Absent Ballmer’s support, Catona could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein.”
According to a document obtained by ESPN contributor Pablo Torre and reportedly signed by Leonard, the six-time NBA All-Star was to receive $28 million in cash from Aspiration over the course of four years between 2022 and 2025, as long as he was playing for the Clippers.
Aspiration was to pay Leonard the millions for a “no-show” job.
Ballmer told ESPN in September that he was the victim of a fraudulent act and didn’t perpetrate one.
“These were guys who committed fraud,” Ballmer said in an interview following the accusations. “Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”
The NBA is conducting an investigation into the matter.
The current collective bargaining agreement allows for a fine of up to $4.5 million for a first offense of circumventing the salary cap, the forfeiture of one first-round draft pick, and/or the voiding of any contracts or transactions that violated league rules.
Leonard originally signed with the Clippers in 2019 before agreeing to a three-year contract extension worth around $150 million in early 2024.
The 34-year-old won the NBA Finals MVP award both times he earned NBA championship titles (2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, 2019 with the Toronto Raptors). He also has two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards to his name.
He missed the 2021-22 campaign following knee surgery and has been limited in each of the past three seasons due to ongoing knee issues. He averaged 21.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 37 games last season.
In six games this season, he is averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
In his 14th season, the six-time All-Star has averaged 20.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in 739 games with the Spurs, Raptors and Clippers.
