Aspiration Partners Co-Founder Gets 14-Year Sentence for Fraud

The co-founder of a climate-finance startup once valued at more than $2 billion and backed by a slate of high-profile celebrities was ordered to spend 14 years behind bars after admitting he defrauded multiple investors and lenders, according to prosecutors.

Joseph Sanberg, of Orange, California, was sentenced on Monday by US District Judge Stephen V. Wilson in Los Angeles, according to a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office.

Sanberg’s company, Los Angeles-based Aspiration Partners, offered green banking products to consumers and sustainability services, like tree planting, to businesses. The firm was at one time backed by celebrities including ...