4 years in prison for Nikola Corp founder for defrauding investors on claims of zero-emission trucks
The founder of Nikola Corp. has been sentenced to four years in prison for his conviction for exaggerating claims about his company's production of zero-emission 18-wheel trucks
NEW YORK — The founder of Nikola Corp. was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for his conviction for exaggerating claims about his company’s production of zero-emission 18-wheel trucks, causing investors to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Trevor Milton learned his fate in Manhattan federal court when Judge Edgardo Ramos announced the sentence, saying he believed that a jury in October 2022 “got it right” when it convicted him. The judge also ordered Milton to pay a $1 million fine.
“Over the course of many months, you used your considerable social media skills to tout your company in ways that were materially false,” the judge said, noting investors suffered heavy losses. “What you said over and over on different media outlets was wrong."
Before the sentence was handed down, Milton fought through tears in delivering a half-hour rambling statement portraying some of his actions as heroic at Nikola and his intentions sincere as he sought to produce trucks that would not harm the environment.
He claimed that big companies in the industry have followed his lead to try to create vehicles that would leave a cleaner environment.
And he said he didn’t quit his company because of crimes but rather because his wife was dying.
Milton did not apologize directly to investors or anyone else, but he asked the judge to spare him from prison.
“I obviously feel awful for all the resources and time this has caused everybody. I don’t think you can feel human without feeling terrible for everyone involved,” he said. “My intent was not to harm others.”
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