Kawhi Leonard scandal: Steve Ballmer reportedly invested another $10 million into company he said 'conned' him Jack BaerSeptember 13, 2025 at 12:56 AM 0 Another update has hit in the Kawhi Leonard scandal and it once again sounds quite bad for Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers.
- - Kawhi Leonard scandal: Steve Ballmer reportedly invested another $10 million into company he said 'conned' him
Jack BaerSeptember 13, 2025 at 12:56 AM
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Another update has hit in the Kawhi Leonard scandal and it once again sounds quite bad for Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers.
This time, The Athletic is reporting that Ballmer made another $10 million investment in 2023 into Aspiration, the fintech company that allegedly signed Leonard to a $28 million contract to promote the company, which he never did, as a way to circumvent the NBA's salary cap. The NBA has hired a law firm to investigate the allegations, with potentially severe repercussions.
Ballmer had previously invested $50 million in the company at its founding stage, but has since defended himself by claiming that he was "conned" out of the money and denying all wrongdoing. Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg has pleaded guilty to to fraud charges brought by the Justice Department.
"The speculation is what it is," Ballmer continued. "Why did they do that? I don't know why they did what they did. And I don't know how different it is. And frankly, any speculation would be crazy.
"These are guys who committed fraud. Look, 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."
Not helping his defense is a report that Leonard's camp asked for a deal from the Toronto Raptors very similar to what is being alleged.
This continues to look quite bad for Steve Ballmer and the Clippers. At the very least, it was expensive. (Photo by Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Daily Breeze via Getty Images) (MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images via Getty Images)
It's unclear when Ballmer realized Aspiration wasn't on the up-and-up, but his subsequent $10 million investment came at a time when the now-bankrupt company was reportedly in dire straits, bleeding cash, laying off employees and failing
Ballmer's $10 million infusion into Aspiration came as the Los Angeles-based company was hemorrhaging cash, laying off employees and failed to reach a fundraising goal as it was foundering. It was also reported Thursday that Clippers co-owner Dennis Wong contributed another $1.99 million in that same 2023 period, which coincided with a $1.75 million payment to Leonard.
The Athletic also notes that Leonard's endorsement contract gave him $20 million in equity for a promotion job he never did, much more than celebrity investors Leonard DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. and Drake, who all had under $5 million in the company.
Source: "AOL AOL Sports"
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