An Orange County resident and co-founder of the company formerly known as Aspiration Partners Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud charges after being accused of defrauding investors and lenders out of more than $248 million.
Joseph Neal Sanberg, 46, is charged with two counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Sanberg is expected to formally enter his guilty plea in the coming weeks.
“This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case, and I urge the investing public to use caution and beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
“For years, Joseph Sanberg used his position at Aspiration to deceive investors and lenders for his own benefit, causing his victims over $248 million in losses,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to pursuing, charging, and convicting fraudsters like Sanberg, who cause significant harm to their victims and undermine our financial institutions.”
“The defendant didn’t just bend the truth, he built a business on a lie to boost the company’s value and line his own pockets,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Criminal Investigations Group. “The Postal Inspection Service will go after this kind of calculated deception. No matter who you are, you will be brought to justice.”
“This is a case about greed and abuse of trust,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s guilty plea is a direct result of the commitment by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who set out to defraud victims and undermine our financial system. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to ensure this kind of malicious behavior is investigated and stopped.”
Court documents indicate that from 2020 through 2025, Sanberg used his role at Aspiration Partners Inc., along with his shares in the company, as part of a scheme targeting multiple lenders and investors.
Between 2020 and 2021, Sanberg worked with Ibrahim AlHusseini—also an Aspiration board member—to secure $145 million in loans from two lenders by pledging Sanberg’s shares as collateral. The two also falsified AlHusseini’s bank statements in order to exaggerate assets by tens of millions for loan approval.
Sanberg further misled Aspiration investors beginning in 2021 by hiding that he was behind certain revenue streams reported by the company. He recruited companies and individuals under false pretenses into signing letters committing them to pay monthly fees for tree planting services; these payments actually came from entities controlled by Sanberg rather than genuine customers.
Aspiration recorded revenue from these sources between March 2021 and November 2022 without disclosing that they originated from Sanberg himself, leading financial statements to overstate actual income received during that period.
Sanberg continued soliciting investments into Aspiration securities into 2025 while using fraudulent materials—including a fabricated audit committee letter falsely claiming $250 million cash on hand when less than $1 million was available—to obtain additional loans or investments.
According to authorities, total losses among affected parties exceed $248 million.
The investigation remains ongoing under USPIS and FBI oversight.
Assistant United States Attorneys Nisha Chandran (Major Frauds Section) and Jenna Williams (Transnational Organized Crime Section), along with Justice Department Trial Attorneys Theodore Kneller and Adam L.D. Stempel (Criminal Division’s Fraud Section), are prosecuting the case.
Potential victims can contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or via email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov for assistance or information regarding rights: www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas.
