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A $30 million fine and five forfeited first-round picks spanning 2029 through 2033 set the NBA's accounting of Los Angeles Clippers misconduct. The federal reckoning runs parallel: the U.S.
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York has opened a criminal investigation into whether the Clippers arranged off-the-books sponsorship deals to compensate Kawhi Leonard beyond the league's salary-cap limits, first reported by The New York Times.
Where the subpoenas are pointing Prosecutors are focused on a reported $28 million agreement between Leonard and Aspiration Partners, a green finance company that subsequently collapsed into bankruptcy.
Aspiration's co-founder, Joe Sanberg, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for fraud. A grand jury has already issued at least one subpoena. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also entered the inquiry.
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