The hits to California Governor Gavin Newsom kept coming last week with the guilty plea of a top donor on federal fraud charges.

Joseph Sanberg, a liberal activist and green energy entrepreneur, has showered Newsom and his pet causes with millions of dollars in recent years, all of which has come to a halt thanks to the U.S. Justice Department. In a release last week, California’s federal prosecutors reported that Sanberg “agreed to plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count.”

As co-founder of Aspiration Partners, Inc., a financial services and sustainability firm, Sanberg has swum among California’s liberal elite for decades. State donation records show contributions made by Sanberg to Newsom and a number of the state’s top Democrats, including Kamala Harris and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), who is seen as a 2028 aspirant.

“For years, Joseph Sanberg used his position at Aspiration to deceive investors and lenders for his own benefit, causing his victims over $248 million in losses,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a statement.

“The Criminal Division is committed to pursuing, charging, and convicting fraudsters like Sanberg, who cause significant harm to their victims and undermine our financial institutions,” he added.

Sanberg, who founded Aspiration Partners with former Clinton advisor Andrei Cherny, briefly flirted with running for president himself. His appeal toward “climate-friendly banking” cinched deals with institutions like the Los Angeles Clippers, which agreed to pay $300 million to Aspiration Partners for the management of its banking services.

In state politics, Sanberg became heavily involved in Newsom’s campaign to raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 per hour as well as legislation granting state Medicaid services to illegal immigrants, Conservative Brief reported.

It’s the latest setback for Newsom, who has positioned himself as a chief foe to President Donald Trump and is expected to run for the White House in 2028.

Last week, he issued a snarky retort to the CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond when Marcus Lemonis said he would not be returning the company to California after digging it out of bankruptcy.

“We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store,” Newsom’s X account tweeted in response to the executive’s remarks.

Lemonis, who is regarded by business leaders as even-keeled, responded later that the company plans to open 300 stores nationwide and encouraged Californians to shop at Bed Bath & Beyond’s redesigned website.

Newsom has also faced heat for his about-face on transgender athletes. Earlier this year, Newsom told Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk that he holds reservations about biological boys playing in girls’ sports despite signing similar accommodations into law.

The Democrat is also expected to contend with the 2007 extramarital affair that contributed to the end of his first marriage the prior year.