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 get Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers.
The lawsuit alleges that Ballmer used Aspiration, now called Catona, to secretly channel money to Leonard. The complaint states that the payments were intended to circumvent the NBA’s salary caps.
The eleven claimants are investors in Aspiration. They filed a fraud lawsuit, claiming Ballmer was complicit in actions of company co-founder Joe Sanberg.
“These funds would be diverted [Aspiration] to Leonard so that Ballmer could induce Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers by secretly paying him more than allowed by NBA salary cap rules,” the complaint states.
The plaintiffs claim that they would not have invested in Aspiration if Ballmer and Sanberg had disclosed the true nature of Ballmer’s investment. They allege that Ballmer transferred money to keep the company afloat and secure Sanberg’s cooperation.
“Absent Ballmer’s support, [Aspiration] could not have sustained the fraud described herein,” the lawsuit said.
Skip Miller, a Los Angeles-based counsel for the plaintiffs who is also an Aspiration investor, said the lawsuit is intended to recoup the losses.
“A lot of people were hurt here,” Miller said in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court where everything will be aired and justice will be served.”
The complaint states that the full extent of Ballmer’s transfers to Aspiration and Sanberg will be determined further. The plaintiffs allege that Ballmer used the payments to buy Sanberg’s support and keep quiet about the alleged arrangement with Leonard.
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