by Matthew Holloway | Aug 26, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Joseph Sanberg, co-founder of Aspiration Partners and a prominent California Democrat who has donated to Gov. Gavin Newsom, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of wire fraud. Sanberg, who launched the company with former Arizona Democratic Chairman and CD1 Congressional candidate Andrei Cherny in 2013, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count for “defrauding multiple investors and lenders” in a carbon credit purchasing scheme.
According to the Department of Justice, Sanberg, “devised a scheme to use his role as a co-founder and board member of Aspiration as well as his shares of company stock to defraud various lenders and investors.”
All told, Sanberg pleaded guilty to attempting to bilk investors of as much as $2 billion, the company’s proposed valuation. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.
From 2020-21, Sanberg and fellow board member Ibrahim Al Husseini “fraudulently obtained $145 million in loans from two lenders by pledging shares of Sanberg’s Aspiration stock.” The two subsequently falsified Al Husseini’s bank and brokerage statements to inflate his assets by tens of millions of dollars for the purpose of securing loans.
Cherny left the company in mid-October 2022, according to Forbes, following “a rift” that developed between him and Sanberg and a failed attempt to take the company public. At the time of his departure as CEO, the fraudulent activity had been ongoing for approximately two years.
The SEC complaint revealed a text message from Sanberg to Cherny in 2020 in which he said, “If you don’t get me the money tomorrow we are all f…ed. Get me the money. Your turn to figure it out like I have for so long. Wire it to the [Sanberg-entity] account. If you don’t then [the lender] will foreclose. This will give you a good taste of what I have to experience every day. 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.”
“This is a case about greed and abuse of trust,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s guilty plea is a direct result of the commitment by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who set out to defraud victims and undermine our financial system. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to ensure this kind of malicious behavior is investigated and stopped.”
When the investigation was launched by the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission following a 2021 ProPublica investigation, Cherny, deep in his failed campaign to unseat Rep. David Schweikert, defended his work at Aspiration. Cherny told ProPublica that only 12 million of the 35 million “cumulative total of to-be planted trees” had been planted at that time, noting the turnaround on a new planting was about 18 months.
“I have spent more than 25 years working to combat the climate crisis and am proud of the work I did to promote cutting-edge solutions at Aspiration,” Cherny said. “The carbon removal credit industry is an emerging industry and deserves to be regulated and scrutinized to ensure it is as effective as possible.”
He added, “I have no knowledge whatsoever of any wrongdoing at Aspiration and will fully cooperate with this inquiry.”
According to the SEC complaint, “To make it appear as though Aspiration’s business was rapidly growing, Sanberg recruited friends, associates, small businesses, and religious organizations and presented them to Aspiration as bona fide customers who were fully committed to paying large sums of money for the tree-planting services.”
The complaint continued, “Through his fraud, Sanberg raised more than $300 million from investors who falsely believed Aspiration had a thriving environmental sustainability services business.”
“The defendant didn’t just bend the truth, he built a business on a lie to boost the company’s value and line his own pockets,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “The Postal Inspection Service will go after this kind of calculated deception. No matter who you are, you will be brought to justice.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 24, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has launched his second attempt to unseat Republican Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ02). In response, the Congressman blasted Arizona Democrats, saying they “have hit rock bottom, which is exactly where they found Jonathan Nez.”
The Navajo Democrat was handily defeated by Crane in a 9-point race in 2024, outperforming former Vice President Kamala Harris by 3.5 points and exceeding then-Democrat Senate candidate Ruben Gallego in Arizona’s 2nd District.
In a lengthy interview with the Arizona Republic, Nez told the outlet, “Reintroducing myself and introducing myself is going to be priority this time. It seems like it’s been a long time, but it’s only been seven months of this administration… but as you know, and the people in this country know, there’s a lot of changes with policies and laws that are negatively impacting people every day, hardworking people.”
In a statement released Tuesday, Crane wrote:
“The Democratic Party has no leader, no message, no policy agenda, and no candidates. They’ve resigned themselves to the same old, tired talking points being spewed by the same old extreme liberals.
“They have hit rock bottom, which is exactly where they found Jonathan Nez – still licking his wounds after learning the hard way rural Arizona does not want to be represented by a never-Trump radical. I welcome a rematch with Nez and relish the opportunity to remind voters just how out-of-touch he truly is on taxes, on spending, on border security, on crime, and on energy.”
Crane’s campaign noted in a press release that as far as fundraising is concerned, Crane outraised Nez by over $3 million in the 2024 campaign and has raised more than $2.65 million year-to-date with $1.2 million already in his war chest.
As reported by AZ Free News in April, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced that it is targeting the congressional districts of Congressmen David Schweikert (AZ-01), Eli Crane (AZ-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) in 2026, listing Congressional District 2 as among the “competitive” districts and classifying Rep. Crane as “vulnerable.”
However, the rosy projections of recently ousted former Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Robert E. Branscomb seemed to ignore that Rep. Eli Crane’s District 2 seat, which has historically seen zero Democrat wins in the last nine races, was designed by Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission to hold a 7.2% vote spread competitively. Crane beat that spread by nearly two points in 2024.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | Jul 23, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
In a tense and disorganized special meeting last week, the Arizona Democratic Party voted to remove Chair Robert Branscomb after just six months in office. The ouster followed months of infighting, public disputes with elected officials, union clashes, and growing concerns over the party’s financial health heading into the 2026 election cycle.
Branscomb, who was elected chair in January after unseating incumbent Yolanda Bejarano, faced mounting criticism from party leaders and lawmakers. Arizona’s top Democratic elected officials—including U.S. Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, Governor Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes, and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes—issued a rare public rebuke earlier this year, expressing a loss of confidence in his leadership.
Despite technical problems that plagued the meeting, 476 party committee members voted to remove Branscomb through the party’s preferred voting method, surpassing the two-thirds threshold required by Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) bylaws. Some members cast votes by email due to glitches in the party’s online voting system, though the total vote count remains unclear.
“Today’s recall effort is rooted in misrepresentation, divisive tactics and does not reflect our democratic values,” Branscomb said during the meeting. He argued that his removal was not about party unity but about “distraction and dividing us at a time when unity is more important than ever.”
Several lawmakers and party officials cited concerns over Branscomb’s ability to lead Democrats to victory in the next election. “Donors have told me directly they’re sitting out until the party gets its act together,” said State Representative Aaron Márquez.
The July 16 meeting stretched on for hours as frustrations mounted over procedural confusion and technical failures. Several members said they did not receive links to vote on the quorum, raising fears that they would be disenfranchised. Over two and a half hours were spent troubleshooting the party’s online voting platform.
Much of the confusion appeared to stem from tensions between party officers and ADP Executive Director Michael Ruff, who was tasked with managing the voting system. Some staff members claimed in Zoom chat messages that they had offered to help with the process but received no response.
ADP Vice Chair Melissa Galarza criticized the disorganization, saying, “I just feel like this was not well planned, the staff was not prepared for it, Michael Ruff did not prepare us, we had a lack of conversation about this meeting.”
A new election to select the party’s next chair is scheduled for September. Branscomb has the option to challenge his removal in that meeting. Until then, ADP Vice Chair Kim Khoury will serve as interim chair.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 2, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
All is not well in the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) according to a video posted online by National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Spokesman Ben Petersen. The video appears to depict ADP Treasurer Greg Freeman excoriating State Party Chairman Robert Branscomb and calling for his ouster for “burning cash, botched fundraising & looming bankruptcy.”
Petersen described the video in a post to X as a “NEW EPISODE of @AZDemParty IN DISARRAY.” He added, “Dems’ treasurer torches party leadership for burning cash, botched fundraising & looming bankruptcy[.] ‘On pace for the worst fundraising year in the past decade[.]’ ‘The only possible outcome…is ineffectiveness or bankruptcy.’”
In a statement, Petersen called the discord shown in the video, a “stunning internal revolt,” writing, “Arizona Democrats’ stunning internal revolt exposed a party in free fall, burning cash while alienating voters. As Democrats elevate socialists as the face of their party, Republicans are passing middle class tax cuts and the biggest border security investments in generations that will directly benefit hardworking Arizonans.”
In the video, a man, appearing to be Freeman, can be heard saying, “Our fundraising has been historically poor in 2025, and we are on pace for the worst fundraising year in the past decade. As another comparison, we have raised less than 1/3 of what we raised at this point in 2021, and there is no sign of this trend changing.”
He warned, “At the current rate of spending and fundraising we will be unable to pay our staff or our mortgage or both very soon. The only possible outcome for the Arizona Democratic Party, if the chair stays in place, is ineffectiveness or bankruptcy.”
Freeman then called for the removal of Chairman Branscomb saying, “I do believe that this situation can be righted and that the relationships with our elected officials and financial partners can be mended. But those damaged relationships cannot be repaired by the same person that presided over their decline. Removing the chair is the only way.”
According to reporting posted to X by Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic, the executive board of the Arizona Democratic Party issued a censure against Chair Branscomb as well as Executive Director Michael Ruff “based on Branscomb’s refusal to explain to the board why his staff accessed and spread the email of a board member to a ‘known political ally’ outside of official party channels.”
The email purportedly “outlined a pitch to talk to party members and persuade them that Branscomb must vacate the chairs seat” and according to the board, promoted a “false narrative.”
Brahm Resnick of 12News obtained a copy of the censure letter and posted it to X suggesting that the “Chair’s rocky tenure could come to a head at a State Committee meeting 7/16.”
The board wrote in part, “The Chair’s repeated failures to comply with direct instructions from the Executive Board coupled with his prior breach of responsibility in circulating internal communications for personal political gain demonstrate a continuing pattern of disregard for accountability, transparency, and unity. It also undermines the Board’s good-faith efforts to support the Chair’s leadership since the beginning of his term.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Arizona Democratic Party has been beset by infighting with party leadership and top elected Democrats at odds as far back as April 2025 when Branscomb accused his predecessor of undermining him and both sitting U.S. Senators for Arizona of threatening him over disagreements with his decisions. As recently as June 1st, Branscomb told Pitzl in a meeting days before that the party’s state of spending and low fundraising has led to diminished funds after the ADP’s executive committee rejected a budget proposal from him.
Shortly before the reveal of the fiscal cliff, Branscomb suspended his vice chair, Kim Khoury, and accused her of working against him. He claimed she had engaged “in political activity directed against party leadership while holding an executive officer role.”
At the time, one Democratic donor anonymously voiced their concerns to the media saying anonymously, “Why would I write a check when we’re losing everything? We’re losing the airwaves. We’re losing the tech battle. We’re losing the ground game. They have yet to prove that they have learned any real lessons yet. So either people start to wake up or we lose again.”
Since the June 1st report, the situation within the ADP leadership appears to have worsened significantly.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jun 9, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Heading into November’s election, the Democratic Party felt good. They thought they had the presidency locked up. And here locally, they were convinced that they would gain control of Arizona’s legislature after outspending Republicans in every single race.
Then, a massacre happened. President Trump was handed a mandate by the American people, and Democrats actually lost ground in our state legislature. That had to feel like rock bottom for the Left, and yet, as we’ve seen so far in 2025, it wasn’t.
On the heels of their historic defeat, the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) faced accusations of financial wrongdoing from one of its leaders, just days before its convention and officer elections in January. Then, in April, the ADP saw even more infighting between party leadership and the state’s top Democratic elected officials: Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, and U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego. Now, the latest news shows that, according to its own leadership, the Arizona Democratic Party will actually go broke by the end of this year.
That’s a lot of dysfunction in just a few short months, which is usually the domain for Republicans. But now it appears the Dems have become the standard bearer of political chaos…
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