The Los Angeles Clippers is the target of a federal criminal investigation for suspected use of a sponsorship contract to pay Kawhi Leonard under the table and circumvent the NBA salary cap. The information was published by The New York Times, which heard from people familiar with the case.
The investigation is conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, and is still in its early stages. According to the newspaper, at least one subpoena has already been issued by the prosecutors. Representatives of the prosecutor's office, the Clippers, and the NBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment made by ESPN.
The federal investigation was opened after an almost year-long investigation commissioned by the NBA itself. The work was carried out by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which identified irregularities in the process of hiring the star.
