A federal grand jury chargedTrevor Milton, founder and former chairman of EV startupNikola, with three counts of criminal fraud,Bloombergreports.
He’s accused of lying about “nearly all aspects of the business” to increase stock sales of the electric vehicle startup, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Specifically, prosecutors charged himwith two counts of securities fraud, including making false statements about the electric truck company, and wire fraud.
In a separate complaint filed the same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission commented the following:
Milton sold a version of Nikola not as it was — an early-stage company with a novel idea to commercialize yet-to-be proven products and technology — but rather as a trail-blazing company that had already achieved many groundbreaking and game-changing milestones.
“Trevor Milton is innocent,” his lawyers said in a statement. “This is a new low in the government’s efforts to criminalize lawful business conduct. Every executive in America should be horrified.”
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Milton, who surrendered voluntarily to federal custody, pleadednot guilty to the criminal charges in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday afternoon.
He was also freed on a $100 million bail secured by his2,700-acre propertyin Utah.
Nikola has developedhydrogen electric semi-trucksaimed at the European market, while, last fall, the company announced apartnership with General Motorsto develop a pick-up truck powered by Nikola’shydrogen fuel cell.
But now the company’s future seems rather ominous. Nikola’s sharesclosed down 15% on Thursday to $12.03, the biggest drop since January, while the stock is down 21% year-to-date.
Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?
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Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
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