As the Clippers await punishment, their owner is big mad at Pablo — and appears worried about what Aspiration's founder might have told the NBA. So Pablo and David Samson (finally) sit down with a special guest: Lou Manzo, the former DOJ prosecutor who investigated this whole tree-planting fraud in the first place, to go inside the courtroom, comb through footnotes and focus on the end game.

(Additional reporting by Anita Bennett)

Previously on PTFO:

• Part I: The Silent Superstar and the Rotten Apple Tree

• Part II: An Argument with Mark Cuban

• Part III: The Mystery Investor, the No-Show Payday and the "Smoking Gun"

• Part IV: Steve Ballmer, the Other Cuban and the $118 Million Infusion

• Part V: Steve Ballmer's "Inconceivable" Donation, the $20 Million Guarantee and a Head on a Spike

• Part VI: An IRL Showdown with Mark Cuban

• Part VII: The Briefcase, Ballmer's Social Network and Aspiration's House of Cards

• Part VIII: Uncle Dennis, Ballmer's $50 Million Sprint and the Side Deal That Wouldn't Die

• Part IX: Ballmer's Tree Money, the Whistle-Blowers and the Document You've Been Waiting For

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(Pablo Torre Finds Out is independently produced by Meadowlark Media and distributed by The Athletic. The views, research and reporting expressed in this episode are solely those of Pablo Torre Finds Out and do not reflect the work or editorial input of The Athletic or its journalists.)

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lou manzo