Joseph Neal Sanberg, 45, of Orange, California, was arrested on Monday following a federal criminal complaint accusing him of conspiring to defraud two investor funds out of at least $145 million. Sanberg, the co-founder and largest shareholder of Aspiration Partners Inc., allegedly used falsified financial documents to secure fraudulent loans.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Sanberg’s co-conspirator, Ibrahim Ameen AlHusseini, 51, of Venice, pleaded guilty to wire fraud after admitting to receiving $12.3 million from the fraudulent scheme. AlHusseini is scheduled to be sentenced on September 29, 2025, following his arrest in October 2024.
Sanberg’s alleged fraudulent activity dates back to January 2020 when he secured a $55 million loan from Investor Fund A by pledging 10.3 million shares of Aspiration Partners stock as collateral. Since Aspiration Partners was not publicly traded, Investor Fund A required a buyer for the shares in case of default. Sanberg recruited AlHusseini, a board member of Aspiration Partners, to guarantee the purchase through a put option agreement.
Together, the two men inflated AlHusseini’s assets by as much as $200 million using falsified financial records. As a result, Investor Fund A issued the loan without knowledge of the fraud, and AlHusseini received $6 million. In 2021, Sanberg refinanced the loan with Investor Fund B for $145 million, again using fraudulent documents.
The fraud was uncovered when Sanberg defaulted on the loans in 2022 and 2023, leading to losses of at least $145 million. Sanberg now faces charges for his role in the massive scheme, which involved defrauding multiple investors and falsifying financial information.
The case was investigated by federal authorities and is a part of ongoing efforts to address financial fraud and misconduct in the business sector.
