Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola Motors, is convicted for three out of four counts of fraud over misleading company statements on Friday.
Barron's writes that the federal court found Milton guilty of lying about Nikola's development of the company's zero-emissions trucks and technology.
Former CEO Is Caught Lying About 'Nearly All Aspects Of The Business'
With the mission to crack down on corporate crime, the United States Justice Department has subjected Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton to investigations and trials for fraud.
Milton was found guilty of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud on Friday for the fraudulent statements he made on Twitter, in interviews, in other appearances.
According to Engadget, the Nikola founder is scheduled for sentencing for January 27 next year, and could be facing up to 20 years in prison for his charges.
The federal jury indicted Milton on the charges in 2021, where they found that he lied about all aspects of his business to boost the stocks of his electric vehicle company.
This guilty verdict is the supposed punctuation to Milton's misrepresentations and his association with Nikola Motors Corp, which launched in 2020 at a $3.3 billion valuation.
The Security Exchange Commission began their investigation of the company urgently that same year, and was fined $125 million for civil charges in 2021.
Nikola Motor Drives Milton Towards His Convictions
While the company does not necessarily have anything to do with the conviction, Electrek claims that it still played an important role in Milton's way of committing fraud.
The accusations began with how the former chief executive started acquiring revenue from his starting company, following the claims that it had been progressing quickly.
Because of this, the stock of the Nikola Motors skyrocketed but was immediately grounded due to a report from Hindenburg Research, alleging the company of short-selling.
According to Bloomberg reports, Hindenburg Research said that Milton's deception was focused on Nikola staging false advertisements for its hydrogen truck.
However, during the trial, Milton's defense lawyer stated that the allegedly falsified advertisements were simply "special effects" and did not account for a criminal offense.
Furthermore, Engadget reports that the prosecutors were still adamant on their argument that even if that was the case, Milton still made several other fraudulent claims on Twitter.
Additionally, the trial revealed that Nikola's founder also lied about having binding contracts with trucking companies, which actually allowed cancelable reservations in contrast to his claims.
"I did nothing wrong, I was talking about the business plan," Milton tells media reporters outside of the courthouse in defense of his actions, Local News 8 writes.
According to Electrek, Nikola has also issued a statement saying that it is important to remember that Milton's fraudulent remarks were made several years ago.
They added that they closed this chapter in the company a long time and are now dedicated to executing their strategies in order to achieve critical milestones.
While Nikola's name has been significant in the progression of Milton's trial, the company claims that he has not been involved with them in a long time despite owning some of its stock.
