California ‘Anti-Poverty Activist’ And Dem Mega-Donor Pleads Guilty To Massive Carbon-Credit Scam

Joe Sanberg, a prominent California Democrat, self-styled “anti-poverty” crusader, and major donor to progressive causes, pleaded guilty Thursday to orchestrating a massive carbon-credit fraud scheme that duped investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sanberg admitted to two counts of wire fraud in connection to his startup Aspiration Partners Inc., an ESG-themed online banking and carbon-offset platform once praised by the media and Hollywood elites. He now faces up to 40 years in federal prison.

From ‘Clean Rich’ to Criminal Fraud

Aspiration marketed itself as the ethical answer to Wall Street, pledging to plant trees and avoid investing in polluting industries. Its motto: “Clean rich is the new filthy rich.” Sanberg courted praise from environmentalists and progressive circles, attracting celebrity investors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr.

But federal investigators say it was a mirage. According to the Department of Justice, Sanberg fabricated customer relationships to inflate Aspiration’s value, raising over $300 million from misled investors. The company claimed to sell carbon offsets by planting trees in Africa—but many of the clients were fake, and payments were actually made by Sanberg himself to create the illusion of demand.

A Political Power Player

Sanberg is well-known in California Democratic politics, having spent $11 million backing a failed 2024 ballot measure to raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour. He was also a vocal ally of Governor Gavin Newsom and publicly considered a presidential run in 2020. A 2019 profile in The Atlantic described him as a progressive investor daring Trump to call him a socialist.

But federal prosecutors offered a far different picture.

“This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, “seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

SEC: Fake Customers, Fake Revenues, Fake Growth

The SEC also filed civil charges, alleging Sanberg fabricated Aspiration’s growth trajectory to sell investors on a thriving carbon-offset marketplace. Internal communications show he pressured co-founder Andrei Cherny, a former Clinton and Gore aide, to wire money or risk financial collapse.

In one desperate 2020 message to Cherny, Sanberg wrote:

“I hate you and I hate this company and I don’t want to work anymore with you. You are so oblivious to what you’ve forced me to have to do.”

Aspiration attempted to go public via a SPAC in 2021, using financials based on these false claims. Auditors later resigned citing “characteristics of fraud,” while Sanberg pocketed millions in cash bonuses despite dwindling cash reserves.

Alleged Co-Conspirator Also Under Fire

The scandal has also ensnared another high-profile Democrat donor, Ibrahim Alhusseini—a Saudi national and board member of the far-left group CodePink. Prosecutors allege Alhusseini used fake bank statements to secure massive loans, falsely claiming up to $200 million in assets when he had as little as $2,000. He reportedly used those funds for luxury spending and political donations, including to “Squad” members like Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Arrested in October and jailed until December, Alhusseini was freed on $3 million bail, backed by CodePink’s founder Jodie Evans and other wealthy environmental activists. Prosecutors say he moved $300 million to Saudi Arabia and transferred property to relatives—typical red flags for a flight risk.

Fall of a Green Darling

Aspiration’s house of cards collapsed in 2023 after its SPAC deal failed, despite the firm having raised nearly $300 million—some of it from former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Behind the slogans and celebrity endorsements, it was a classic con powered by ESG rhetoric, celebrity credibility, and partisan politics.

Sanberg now awaits sentencing, as the once-celebrated progressive entrepreneur faces the consequences of his environmental fraud.