Climate Finance Unicorn Co-Founder Arrested on Fraud Charges

Joseph Sanberg, the co-founder of Aspiration Partners Inc., a climate-finance startup that was once valued at over $2 billion, was arrested on fraud charges on Monday.

Sanberg helped build Aspiration Partners into a high-flying climate startup, which offered green banking products to consumers and sustainability services, like tree planting, to businesses. The Los Angeles-based firm boasted a roster of celebrity backers, including Steve Ballmer, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., and Cindy Crawford, as it sought to go public in 2021.

Joseph Sanberg

Photographer: Larry French/Getty Images

But the company was propped up by an array of dubious deals and faced an investigation by US ...