Nikola founder Trevor Milton found guilty of fraud
Trevor Milton, founder and former chairman and CEO of electric truck maker Nikola, was found guilty in federal court on Friday of three of four counts of fraud related to false statements he made to boost the value of Nikola shares.< /p>
Milton has been charged with two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, all related to statements he made about Nikola's business while he was chairman and CEO of the society. Jurors found him guilty of one count of securities fraud and both counts of wire fraud.
Milton will be sentenced on January 27. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.
“Trevor Milton lied to Nikola investors — over and over and over again. This is fraud, plain and simple,” said Damien Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Williams said the case against Milton should "serve as a warning" to others who misrepresent investors.
"It's not going to end well," he said.
Williams' Manhattan office alleged that Milton lied about "virtually every aspect of the business" he founded in 2014 while running the business. These lies, prosecutors said, were intended to induce investors to drive up Nikola's stock price.
"On the back of those innocent investors duped by his lies, he became a billionaire virtually overnight," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in his opening statement in September.
Nikola's stock price briefly jumped to over $90 per share in June 2020, just days after it went public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. For a short time, Nikola, a company with no revenue, was more valuable than the century-old Ford Motor.
This ambitious valuation did not last. Shares of Nikola fell sharply once Milton was kicked out of the company in September 2020, after the company's board found that some of the fraud allegations made by short seller Hindenburg Research were founded.
The US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission both opened investigations in the months following Milton's departure. In July 2021, a grand jury indicted Milton on three counts of fraud; a fourth account was added in June 2022.
Nikola herself was not the subject of charges in this case. The SEC had filed related civil charges against the company last year. Those charges were settled in December after Nikola agreed to pay a $125 million fine. Although Milton still owns Nikola shares, the company had otherwise severed ties with him.
Trevor Milton, founder and former chairman and CEO of electric truck maker Nikola, was found guilty in federal court on Friday of three of four counts of fraud related to false statements he made to boost the value of Nikola shares.< /p>
Milton has been charged with two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, all related to statements he made about Nikola's business while he was chairman and CEO of the society. Jurors found him guilty of one count of securities fraud and both counts of wire fraud.
Milton will be sentenced on January 27. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.
“Trevor Milton lied to Nikola investors — over and over and over again. This is fraud, plain and simple,” said Damien Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Williams said the case against Milton should "serve as a warning" to others who misrepresent investors.
"It's not going to end well," he said.
Williams' Manhattan office alleged that Milton lied about "virtually every aspect of the business" he founded in 2014 while running the business. These lies, prosecutors said, were intended to induce investors to drive up Nikola's stock price.
"On the back of those innocent investors duped by his lies, he became a billionaire virtually overnight," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in his opening statement in September.
Nikola's stock price briefly jumped to over $90 per share in June 2020, just days after it went public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. For a short time, Nikola, a company with no revenue, was more valuable than the century-old Ford Motor.
This ambitious valuation did not last. Shares of Nikola fell sharply once Milton was kicked out of the company in September 2020, after the company's board found that some of the fraud allegations made by short seller Hindenburg Research were founded.
The US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission both opened investigations in the months following Milton's departure. In July 2021, a grand jury indicted Milton on three counts of fraud; a fourth account was added in June 2022.
Nikola herself was not the subject of charges in this case. The SEC had filed related civil charges against the company last year. Those charges were settled in December after Nikola agreed to pay a $125 million fine. Although Milton still owns Nikola shares, the company had otherwise severed ties with him.
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