Aspiration co-founder and board member defrauded investors of $145M, prosecutors say

Just over four years ago, climate-friendly fintech startup Aspiration was on the verge of a $2 billion public listing. Now, one of the startup’s board members has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and one of the co-founders has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to defraud investors, according to a federal criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California. The fintech startup has been under federal scrutiny for years for questionable financial and carbon accounting practices. But the new complaint shines a light on a series of loans that were obtained using allegedly fraudulent tactics. Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was arrested Monday for allegedly conspiring to defraud two different funds of $145 million. Also on the same day, Ibrahim AlHusseini, a former independent board member for the company, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for falsifying documents to help Sanberg secure the loans, according to federal prosecutors. If convicted, Sa ... Read full article.