Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced to four years in prison on federal fraud charges

MANHATTAN (CN) — The disgraced founder of zero-emission truck manufacturer Nikola was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday for a trio of fraud counts related to repeated false statements he made about his company.

Trevor Milton, 41, will serve 48 months for each of the fraud counts concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release. He’ll also be fined $1,000,000, a judge ruled Monday.

In a lengthy speech prior to his official sentencing, Milton likened his legal trouble to those of the Central Park Five, boxer Rubin Carter and other wrongful convictions in U.S. history. He pleaded with U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, a Barack Obama appointee, for probation rather than prison time.

Ultimately, Ramos settled on the four-year sentence — still a far cry from the 11 years sought by federal prosecutors.

“I believe the jury got it right,” Ramos said when explaining his decision. “You used your considerable social media talents to tout your company in ways that were materially false.”

Milton was found guilty in 2022 on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Southern District of New York prosecutors accused the serial entrepreneur of duping individual investors by repeatedly touting lies about his hydrogen-powered truck company.

In one instance, Milton released a promotional video of one of his trucks appearing to be fully functional as it moved up and down a hill. In reality, the truck was towed to the top of the hill and rolled down, while Milton insisted otherwise in the clip.

Federal prosecutors accused Milton of targeting everyday retail investors in his online campaigns and media appearances. But Milton’s attorney Marc Mukasey told the court Monday that he didn’t “target” these investors at all. Instead, he wanted to “include” them in his vision for the future.

“For people that don’t know Trevor, it’s got to be very difficult to see Trevor as anything other than what the government wants them to see,” Mukasey said, urging the judge not to “reduce a complex person to one story.”

Mukasey said Milton was “a man with a huge heart” who “wanted to be loved like Elon [Musk].” He never intended to hurt anyone with his actions, Mukasey said of his client; everything Milton said was based on “true beliefs.”

Milton removed his glasses, dropped his head and broke down sobbing before he echoed his lawyer’s sentiments in his own address to the judge.

Pausing several times to wipe his tears, Milton recounted his upbringing, his Cherokee heritage and his religion when pleading with the judge to give him probation. The courtroom gallery was filled with family, friends and former peers of Milton, many of whom also brushed away tears as Milton spoke.

“It’s not hard to find innocent people guilty,” he said, referencing Carter, a boxer who was twice wrongfully convicted of a triple homicide and imprisoned for nearly two decades.

“I did not intend to harm anyone,” Milton said. “I did not commit these crimes levied against me.”

Milton said he wasn’t arguing with the jury’s verdict. His attorneys do plan to appeal his conviction, however.

“The law doesn’t grant a pass for good intentions,” Judge Ramos said after reading Milton’s sentence to the courtroom.

However, the judge said he was moved by the letters written by Milton’s family and friends vouching for his character.

“There were people I’ve sentenced whose offenses were substantially less, but who looked their victims in the eye as they took their last dollar,” Ramos told Milton. “I don’t believe that’s who you are… but real people were hurt by your actions.”

Nikola’s stock price took a hefty dive in 2020 amid reports questioning Milton’s claims that the company had already produced zero-emission 18-wheel trucks. Milton was indicted in 2021 following a report released by Hindenburg Research that called Nikola’s success “an intricate fraud.”

In 2021, Nikola was forced to pay $125 million to settle a civil case with the Securities and Exchange Commission for related fraud.

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