Trevor Milton was the man at the top of Nikola in 2018, when the company admittedly faked a video of its prototype electric semi-truck driving down a road. That instance, along with many other statements made by Milton, led many to believe that the company was closer to full production than it actually was. Back in October 2022, a jury found him guilty of securities fraud and wire fraud.
Today, a judge sentenced Mr. Milton to four years in federal prison, along with a $1,000,000 fine, a yet-to-be-determined amount of restitution, and three years of supervised release after he serves his initial sentence. That's actually quite a bit less of a sentence than prosecutors originally asked for. They wanted Milton to serve 11 years and pay a $5,000,000 fine. On the other hand, Milton's council only asked for probation.
Since Milton left Nikola, the company has managed to launch a hydrogen-electric semi-truck, but this step forward has been plagued by numerous problems. In the first quarter of 2023, it posted a $169 million loss. In May, it received a delisting notice from the NASDAQ for trading below a dollar for an extended period of time. In June, it cut 270 jobs and then had a fire on its site that destroyed four trucks.
Source: Carscoops
