According to Mark Cuban, Steve Ballmer began negotiating with Aspiration in August 2021, the merger agreement was signed on August 16, 2021, and the deal closed and funded on September 14, 2021 with escrow established, providing the baseline timeline for fund flows and disclosures. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Cuban adds that ESPN reported Ballmer said Aspiration asked him to introduce the firm to Kawhi Leonard and that the first introduction email was in early November 2021, which places the initial contact after multiple escrow events. Source: ESPN. Cuban states, citing the SEC S-4, that Aspiration took escrow funds before the Kawhi introduction, with subsequent closings dated October 15, October 28, November 2, November 12, and November 16, 2021, indicating withdrawals prior to the early November introduction. Source: SEC S-4 via Mark Cuban on X. Cuban asserts there was no CBA violation, clarifying compliance context for team and player-related considerations. Source: Mark Cuban on X. The SEC S-4 discloses that subsequent to September 30, 2021, Aspiration paid RJB Partners 10,013,455 dollars for consulting services, identifying a material cash outflow tied to the transaction period. Source: SEC S-4. Cuban notes that InterPrivate III was expected to contribute approximately 285 million dollars and that timelines were communicated as year-end 2021 then end of Q1 2022, framing capital expectations around the SPAC process. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Cuban also claims KPMG resigned and refused to approve the audit, underscoring audit risk that traders typically price as elevated governance uncertainty. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Taken together, the SEC filing details and ESPN reporting outline escrow usage timing, consulting payouts, and auditor issues that are relevant to risk assessment in SPAC and fintech trades and can influence broader risk sentiment across high-beta sectors including crypto. Source: SEC S-4, ESPN, Mark Cuban on X.

According to @mcuban on X on Sep 14, 2025, he questioned why referenced internal documents and emails tied to “Sanberg” have not been published and whether a “smoking gun” would be released if available. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. He asked whether internal sources informed KPMG before its resignation “because of suspected revenue fraud” and noted an internal committee “found nothing.” Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. He asserted a “Ballmer 50/12” directive to KL resulted in only $3.5 million paid, with no further payment until after a December 2022 raise, and a final $7 million never paid. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. He stated $29 million was paid for World Cup carbon credits without cash escrow after “Sanberg” overruled an executive, leading to a lawsuit in which a judge ruled the $29 million should be returned, and he referenced a $29.5 million judgment. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. He argued these points show “Sanberg ran everything,” claimed only “Sanberg and KL2” know what happened, and added that if the $29.5 million judgment was collected, none went to KL2; he also linked to a Pablo Torre post on X. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. For traders, the claims center on audit resignation, litigation recovery, disputed payment schedules, and control assertions that could be material if tied to a public issuer; monitor for any document releases or confirmations. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025. No cryptocurrencies or tokens were mentioned in the post. Source: @mcuban on X, Sep 14, 2025.