Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by 11 investors who allege he used a company to funnel millions of dollars to Kawhi Leonard. The investors claim Ballmer violated NBA salary cap rules to induce Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers.
The lawsuit alleges Ballmer used Aspiration, now called Catona, to secretly channel funds to Leonard. The complaint states the payments were designed to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap restrictions.
The 11 plaintiffs are investors in Aspiration. They filed the lawsuit alleging fraud and claiming Ballmer was complicit in actions by company co-founder Joe Sanberg.
“These funds would be channeled through [Aspiration] to Leonard so that Ballmer could induce Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers by covertly paying him more than allowed by the NBA’s salary cap rules,” the complaint states.
The plaintiffs allege they would not have invested in Aspiration if Ballmer and Sanberg had disclosed the true nature of Ballmer’s investment. They claim Ballmer transferred funds to keep the company afloat and secure Sanberg’s cooperation.
“Absent Ballmer’s support, [Aspiration] could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein,” the lawsuit states.
Skip Miller, Los Angeles-based counsel for the plaintiffs and also an Aspiration investor, said the lawsuit seeks to recoup losses.
“A lot of people have been hurt here,” Miller said in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court where everything will be aired out and justice will be done.”
The complaint states the full extent of Ballmer’s transfers to Aspiration and Sanberg will be determined in discovery. The plaintiffs allege Ballmer used the payments to buy Sanberg’s support and silence about the alleged arrangement with Leonard.