After the scandal surrounding the founder of the US electric truck manufacturer Nikola, the verdict has now been reached: Trevor Milton cheated and misled investors. He faces 20 years in prison.
A jury in Manhattan on Friday found the founder of the US electric truck manufacturer Nikola, Trevor Milton (40), guilty of fraud. Among other things, the court regarded securities fraud and two other allegations as proven. Milton faces up to 20 years in prison. According to Bloomberg, the sentence will be announced on January 27th.
The public prosecutor had accused the 40-year-old of having made false and misleading claims about the company’s trucks and technology in the media. He wanted to drive the share price up. The stock plummeted in 2020 after a short seller reported it was “scamming.” Milton had vacated his post as a result of the 2020 reports.
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“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Milton said outside the courthouse. Nikola shared after the court decision that he was happy to close this chapter. Last year, the company agreed to a $125 million payment with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nikola is one of the most dazzling companies in the electric car world and exemplifies the hype of electric car start-ups. At $34 billion, it was temporarily worth more than Ford on the stock exchange – although Milton had not delivered a single truck at the time, sales: zero.