An Orange County entrepreneur and investor known for his crusade to end poverty in California has agreed to plead guilty to carrying out a $248 million dollar scheme to defraud investors and lenders to the Los Angeles-based startup he co-founded, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday, Aug. 21.

Joseph Neal Sanberg, once the public face of a high-flying, environmentally conscious digital bank with star-studded backing and a sky-high $2 billion valuation, is now facing a likely lengthy prison sentence after prosecutors say he has reached a plea deal admitting to two felony counts of wire fraud.

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Locally, Sanberg, 46, was best known for his long-running anti-poverty efforts. During a 2016 interview with a Southern California News Group reporter, Sanberg referred t

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