I didn't see discussion of this news on the internet, so figured I would submit it. I am summarizing a part of an Octus Credit Podcast that released yesterday. I am not a lawyer, so any lawyers, especially bankruptcy lawyers, please correct me in the comments.  

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vXiJJrK9RbloebCcdFHna

 

In a 9/10 court filing by CTN Holdings (what Aspiration Partners changed their name to right before filing for bankruptcy), they included the endorsement contract between KL2 ASPIRE LLC and Aspiration Partners, Inc as part of the chapter 7 bankruptcy estate going forward.

 

https://www.veritaglobal.net/ctnholdings/document/2510603250910000000000002

This is a huge win for transparency because the bankruptcy lawyers on the Octus Credit podcast had theorized the possibility that Aspiration could have included the Kawhi contract in their chapter 11 sale to their lenders, effectively hiding the details of it from the public. By selling it to a 3rd party buyer, the 3rd party buyer legally releases any ability to evaluate the contracts for fraudulent activity.

This means that, theoretically, Balmer could have paid a 3rd party under the table to assume that contract, protecting Kawhi from any clawback litigation that might bring sketchy activity to light.

 

Any potential transfer to Kawhi Leonard while the company is insolvent is illegal and is subject to clawbacks from the bankruptcy estate. At the very least, federal bankruptcy court now is going to look at all of the facts of this endorsement contract very closely. Since the contract is now in the bankruptcy estate, the NBA and Steve Ballmer can do nothing to prevent any sketchy behavior from coming to light, regardless of how rich Ballmer is.

32 comments

  3. He covered his tracks, he got that idiot at Aspiration to lie for him. You think this is something? You think this is bad? This? This chicanery? He’s done worse.

  6. Just letting you know I took all you wrote, published on the forbidden media (with credit to you, of course+link to this post), tagged Pablo Torre, and he followed me back as a result.

    So this isn’t getting unnoticed

    Edit1: Forgot to tag u/AffectionatePie512

    Edit2: [Screenshots of tag+credit to OP+Pablo’s tag+follow back by Pablo (at least for now)](https://np.reddit.com/user/MrBuckBuck/comments/1ng3xy1/im_just_glad_the_voice_of_the_rnba_community/) – via Reddit, so you could see I’m not bullshitting anyone.

  8. I would think if they only paid kawhi it would be clawed back as a preferential payment. I know it’s not the exact legal term but I’m fairly certain you cannot pay one creditor while stiffing everyone else. My CPA studying brain might be mixing this up though. 

  12. I feel like someone did this on purpose, didn’t like the corruption at a company founded on idealism, and maybe even informed PT to look into all this, a whistleblower seems likely at a company that played on morality to scam people on environmental projects.

    I wish all the people holding up the billionaires lies, all the accountants and lawyers paid to help with huge crimes too big for one person to do alone, I wish they would stop helping criminals thrive and instead help humanity and democracy survive.

  14. It’s a preferential transfer IF they prioritized him (which they did in the 2022 by labeling him critical). The claw back period for non-insiders is 90 days but for insiders is a year.

  15. 3 things that can cause a man’s downfall: lust, greed, and ego. 

    Watch out for them lol. 

  16. Mark Cuban now needs to figure out how to do summersaults for Kawhi after doing backflips for Ballmer

  18. There’s nothing criminal going on. Bankruptcy trustees might try to claw back payments depending on what was paid and when, but not one is going to jail over it.

  19. I’m a bankruptcy attorney who occasionally does Delaware work. What allegedly occurred here with the company paying funds to Kawaii without any benefit to it is a classic fraudulent transfer. But it’s not clear cut and is the sort of odd edge case that makes law interesting. There are a bunch of timing issues that come into play also.

    However the trustee has nearly two years to file suit and in my experience will often take that full time. Right now he or she is just drinking from a firehouse. So if fully expect the nba matter to play out first.

  24. Finally someone posted this. I have been saying this for the past week and some people said I am wrong because Kawhi is indemnified by their contract.

    Fraud is fraud. You get paid to do purpose X but if it’s actually for Purpose Y, this is fraud. No amount of words in a contract can shield you from this.

  27. If Kawhi were actually held liable, this might have a chilling effect (as it should) on any players to consider their end of entering into these kinds of schemes, but then again, you shouldn’t leave it to players to be the only ones responsible for policing themselves to not take bags that are held out in front of them by people who essentially are immune from consequences by dint of their extreme wealth.

    It’s really key that Ballmer be held seriously accountable and not get away with this with a little slap on the wrist, or by claiming that he’s a victim too.

  28. man these posts and these headlines, this was not what i expected r/nba to turn into but here we are can’t wait for the season to start

  30. What i’m still stuck on.

    Why? Why any of this? Especially for an old unmotivated Kawaii Leonard?

  31. If Kawhi and Balmer go to jail I will die laughing.

    Kawhi is one of my favorite players to watch of all time and I will still stunt on him if he gets cooked for fraud so he can be even more of a millionaire.

    Balmer is just a guy who is so rich he thinks the rules don’t apply. I love seeing people like that go down.

    JAIL PLEASE,JAIL DENNIS TOO, JAIL EVERYONE WHO KNEW. lmao

  32. Trump would bail him out. He only hates poor black people. Kawhi can cut him a check, easy.

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