Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced to 4 years in prison for defrauding investors

The disgraced founder of Nikola, Trevor Milton, has been handed a four-year prison sentence following his conviction for defrauding investors in October 2022. In a rather unusual courtroom scene, Milton, in an attempt to avoid the prison term, brought up various personal issues, including his Cherokee heritage, his wife’s Lyme disease, his mother’s breast cancer, and his affiliation with the LDS faith.

In a tearful plea before the judge, Milton began by mentioning his one-quarter Cherokee Indian heritage, saying:

“As I reflect on my heritage (pulls tissues out of box), sorry your Honor, I never had to talk about these things before. I am one quarter Cherokee – there was ethnic cleansing against my ancestors.”

The ruling comes a little over a year after Milton was found guilty of defrauding investors in a US court of three of four counts of fraud relating to false statements he made to drive up the value of the company’s stock while he was CEO of the EV company.

During the court hearing today, Milton expressed remorse for his actions, saying: “I feel terrible for everyone involved. I had amazing parents. I’d like to give you detailed examples of who I really am. I ask you to open your heart; the Bible says God looks at the heart. Please listen to the end before deciding.”

“My people were forced into Oklahoma, and you can still see the lingering trauma on reservations. Fortunately, the generational trauma stopped with my mother; she made a conscious decision not to pass it down to her children. I’ve always had a tender heart from a young age,” he shared emotionally.

He went on to share a personal story about his mother’s battle with cancer, recounting, “In the third grade, I watched ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’—I cried, and others laughed at me. It was then I knew I’d never be truly understood. Then my mother fell ill. She underwent cancer treatment with morphine, and eventually, the doctors had to remove her breasts. She ended up bald.”

Transitioning to a different topic, Milton delved into an extensive narrative about heaven: “My father sold our homes, our garage was left empty. Despite what countless articles from the so-called fake media claim, I was not entitled. Let me share some moments I haven’t even disclosed to my family. My mother once described to me the beauty of Heaven; she claimed to have visited. She spoke of colors in heaven that don’t exist on Earth, where your purity is broadcast in vibrant hues. It’s a thorough review of your entire existence. Those who sought destruction were deemed filth.”

He continued, discussing the concept of repentance and the afterlife, saying, “The process of repentance can take thousands of years on the other side—it’s what they call Hell. Every decision is broadcast to billions of God’s creations, and our capacity to absorb information is nearly infinite. From that point on, I remember everything.”

In October 2022, a U.S. jury convicted Milton of fraud in a case alleging he lied to investors about the electric vehicle company’s technology. After deliberating for around five hours, the jury also found Milton guilty of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. However, he was acquitted on an additional count of securities fraud. Prosecutors depicted Milton, 40, as a “con man” during a court trial in federal court in Manhattan, New York.

The whole saga began in September 2020 when Trevor Milton found himself under SEC investigation following claims by a short seller that Nikola, the electric truck maker he founded, had misled investors. The accuser, known as Hindenburg, alleged that Milton had fabricated information about Nikola’s technology to boost the company’s growth and secure partnerships with auto manufacturers.

In a report titled “Nikola: How to Parlay An Ocean of Lies Into a Partnership With the Largest Auto OEM in America,” Hindenburg characterized Nikola as a “complex fraud built on dozens of lies” orchestrated by Milton. The report was released just two days after Nikola announced a partnership deal with General Motors, causing a surge in the stock prices of both companies.

Judge Strauss confirmed that Milton’s deceptive actions occurred between November 2019, when he initiated Nikola’s public offering, and September 2020, the month he departed from the company. During this timeframe, Milton was fixated on maintaining Nikola’s stock price at a high level, allowing his holdings to surpass $7 billion when the company’s shares peaked, according to the judge.

Milton founded Nikola in 2014, based in Salt Lake City, with a focus on building heavy-duty transport trucks using hybrid hydrogen-electric powertrains. Notably, despite its seven-year existence, the company has yet to sell a single car or truck. Named after inventor Nikola Tesla, the company specializes in designing and manufacturing electric vehicles, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and electric drivetrains.