The co-founder of a celebrity-backed digital bank that built its image around environmental values was sentenced to 14 years in prison after admitting to a fraud scheme.
According to MyNewsLA.com, Joe Sanberg, 46, was sentenced in downtown Los Angeles. He had pleaded guilty in October to two federal wire fraud counts in a scheme prosecutors said defrauded lenders and investors of $248 million with the now-bankrupt company Aspiration.
Before filing for bankruptcy in March 2025, Aspiration promoted itself as an online bank focused on social and environmental responsibility, linking its brand to climate action and carbon credits. That image helped draw prominent backers, including Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Los Angeles Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer.
According to court filings, Sanberg used his position as co-founder and board member, along with his company shares, to secure $145 million in loans. Prosecutors said he and fellow board member Ibrahim AlHusseini pledged Sanberg's shares to lenders and used falsified financial records to overstate AlHusseini's assets by tens of millions of dollars.
AlHusseini admitted guilt in March 2025 and has not been sentenced.
After investing $60 million in Aspiration, Ballmer said on X that he had been "duped."
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MyNewsLA.com reported that Ballmer sent a five-page letter to U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson, who sentenced Sanberg, to urge the court to consider the harm caused to the Clippers organization when determining the appropriate penalty.
Aspiration did not simply sell banking services; it sold an identity tied to climate action, social impact, and a cleaner future.
The fallout can reach beyond wealthy investors. When a high-profile company wrapped in green branding collapses in scandal, it can leave everyday consumers more skeptical of climate action-focused businesses and financial products.
Celebrity support can make a company seem more credible or secure than it actually is, even when the business practices behind the scenes are unstable.
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Sanberg's restitution hearing is set for July 20.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli offered a warning for investors and consumers alike, saying, "Use caution and beware of wolves in sheep's clothing."
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