Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Gets 4-year Prison For Fraud

RTTNews | 471日前
Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Gets 4-year Prison For Fraud

(RTTNews) - Nikola Corp.'s founder Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison for making false and misleading statements to retail investors to drive investor demand. He was also fined $1 million, and three years of supervised release.

Judge Edgar Ramos reportedly allowed Milton to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction.

The sentence follows a verdict in October 2022, in which Milton, the former Executive Chairman and CEO of Nikola, was found guilty on two counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Under federal sentencing guidelines for such crimes, he had faced a recommended sentence of 60 years in prison.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, stated that Milton engaged in securities and wire fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud and mislead investors about the development of products and technology by the company he founded. Milton was previously convicted after a one-month trial before Judge Ramos.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, "Trevor Milton lied to investors again and again — on social media, on television, on podcasts, and in print. But today's sentence should be a warning to start-up founders and corporate executives everywhere — 'fake it till you make it' is not an excuse for fraud, and if you mislead your investors, you will pay a stiff price."

In the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, prosecutors reportedly were demanding 11 years sentence, asking the judge to take into account Milton's profound denial of accountability and insistence on blaming others.

Meanwhile, Milton's attorneys were seeking a non-jail sentence of probation. Milton reportedly told judge before being sentenced that he did not intend to harm anyone and that he did not commit those crimes levied against.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, restitution will be determined at a future proceeding.

It was in June 2020 that the electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker went public through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company. In 2021, the company agreed to pay $125 million to settle civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following the news, Nikola shares fell nearly 10 percent on Monday's regular trading on Nasdaq. However, the shares are gaining around 2.5 percent in the pre-market activity.

read more
Nikola Appoints Mary Chan As Chief Operating Officer

Nikola Appoints Mary Chan As Chief Operating Officer

Nikola Corp. (NKLA) announced Monday the appointment of Mary Chan as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective October 9, 2023. Chan will lead the company's engineering, program, product, supply chain, and manufacturing teams.
RTTNews | 563日前
Nikola Announces Q2 Battery-electric Truck Deliveries

Nikola Announces Q2 Battery-electric Truck Deliveries

Nikola Corp. (NKLA), a global leader in zero-emissions transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions, via the HYLA brand, announced Wednesday its quarterly deliveries for its battery-electric truck, with wholesale of 45 trucks and retail of 66 trucks in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
RTTNews | 638日前
Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative from Wall Street overnight, with some of the major markets being closed, as traders continue to assess the impact of the steeper-than-expected reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on U.S. trade partners. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
RTTNews | 4時5分前
Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

The Australian stock market is extending its early losses in mid-market moves on Friday, adding to the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling almost 2 percent to stay just above the 7,700 level, with weakness across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.
RTTNews | 4時48分前
Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower At Open As Global Sell-off Deepens

Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower At Open As Global Sell-off Deepens

Indian shares may follow global peers lower on Friday, even as a weakening dollar, plunging oil prices and expectations for accelerated Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts may help cap overall losses to some extent.
RTTNews | 4時55分前
Japanese Market Sharply Lower; Down 2.4%

Japanese Market Sharply Lower; Down 2.4%

Extending the sharp losses in the previous session, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling 2.4 percent to below the 33,900 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.
RTTNews | 5時59分前