Just four years ago, the climate-friendly FinTech Entrepreneurship Aspirations was about to see a $2 billion public listing. Now, a board member of the startup has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, with one of the co-founders arrested for allegedly defrauding investors.
Fintech startups have been Federal Review Years of financial and carbon accounting practices over the years. However, the new complaints illustrate a range of loans obtained using suspected fraudulent strategies.
Aspration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was arrested Monday for allegedly defrauding two different $145 million in funds. Also on the same day, Ibrahim Alhusseini, a former independent board member of the company, admitted to forging documents for fraudulent behavior to help Thunberg ensure that the loan was obtained.
If convicted, Thunberg faces up to 20 years in prison. Alhusseini faces the same maximum fine, although he is working with prosecutors, according to Go to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Central California.
The startup has attracted well-known investors over the years, including actor Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio and musician Drake and basketball coach Doc Rivers’ Robert Downey Jr. The company hopes to publicly release through SPAC in 2021 The transaction failed In 2023.
Both Sanberg and Alhusseini have been accused of cheating on two different investors. In 2020, Sanberg negotiated a $55 million loan with the unnamed Investor Fund. He promised to mortgage 10.3 million shares of aspiration shares. Investor Fund asked Sanberg to look for a third party and agreed to buy stocks in a secondary sale if the fund wanted to sell.
According to prosecutors, Alhusseini is a so-called third party. Thunberg allegedly convinced him to sign put options for the stock in January 2020, which would make Alhusseini obligated to buy if the unnamed fund wants to sell.
But Alhusseini doesn’t have $55 million to pay the fund if the fund exercises the option, federal prosecutors said. Thunberg and Arnucini allegedly worked with a Lebanese graphic designer to mock a fake brokerage account and bank statement to increase Arhusseini’s assets by $80 million to $200 million.
With the forward option, the fund borrowed $55 million from Thunberg. Alhusseini received $6 million from the loan as a guaranteed payment fee in case the levy was insufficient.
In November 2021, Thunberg allegedly refinanced the loan through a second investor fund that he declined to be named. This time, the loan is $145 million.
Likewise, Alhusseini allegedly agreed to a right option, this time for $65 million, just in case 10.3 million shares are worthless. Like previous loans, Sanberg and Alhusseini allegedly showed a second forged document that swelled Arnusini’s assets. This time, Alhusseini received a premium payment of $6.3 million.
Under his plea agreement, Alhusseini received a total of $12.3 million from the program.
A year later, Thunberg defaulted on a $145 million loan. Then in the spring of 2023, he defaulted again. The fund that provided the loan with Alhusseini, who has not yet purchased shares, exercised its put options. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the fund lost at least $145 million.
