Clippers' Steve Ballmer seeks to dismiss fraud lawsuit tied to Kawhi Leonard cap circumvention allegations
Ballmer was named in a lawsuit brought by former Aspiration employees
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1 min read
Attorneys for Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 11 former Aspiration investors alleging they were defrauded by co-founder Joseph Sanberg, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.
Ballmer was added to the complaint in November following revelations from Pablo Torre's podcast that connected Ballmer to Aspiration, with allegations that Ballmer funneled money through Aspiration to circumvent the salary cap and provide additional payments to Kawhi Leonard through a no-show sponsorship deal with Aspiration.
"Plaintiffs would not have invested and/or kept their investment in (Aspiration) if Ballmer and Sanberg had disclosed the true nature of Ballmer's investment," the Nov. 3 complaint read. "Ballmer thus supported and participated in Sanberg's fraud."
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Ballmer and the Clippers have vehemently denied any involvement in a cap circumvention scheme and claimed he was defrauded by Sanberg like Aspiration's other investors. On Monday, his attorneys filed to dismiss his inclusion in the lawsuit, "in (the investors') zeal to recover assets swindled by Sanberg from anybody with the means to pay." In the filing, they said "there are no facts demonstrating an agreement between Ballmer and Sanberg to engage in salary cap circumvention," and doubled down on their assertion Ballmer was defrauded by Sanberg like other investors.
A hearing is scheduled for March 9 at the Los Angeles County Superior court.
The alleged cap circumvention scheme came to light in Torre's reporting in the weeks prior to the start of NBA training camp. Leonard brushed aside questions about the $28 million sponsorship deal, in which he never made any public appearances or social media posts, insisting he and his camp never did anything wrong.
The NBA's investigation into Ballmer and the Clippers' connection to Aspiration and whether his multiple investments into the now-bankrupt company were related to Leonard's sponsorship deal and if it was established to provide additional payments to the star outside the structure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Ballmer has said he welcomes the investigation, which is expected to last well into the second half of the NBA season.
