The storm continues on Nikola, the company founded by Trevor Milton which has set out to operate in the sector of electric trucks it’s at fuel cells. After being accused of using a fake truck for promotional videos, who was traveling only because he was willing to go downhill, is now back in the eye of the storm, with new accusations about the false presentations of his trucks and the taken into custody of its founder.
Trevor Milton had already resigned last September, after receiving allegations of investor fraud, which he allegedly deceived about the alleged technological achievements of his engineers. Milton boasted that his company had successfully produced working prototypes of electric trucks and pickups that would change the industry, when in fact he never built anything.
Milton resigned when it emerged that the Justice Department opened a ‘investigation of the startup and its founder on possible false claims. Nikola’s founder and ex-CEO allegedly set up a web of false communications in order to inflate the value of the shares of his company.
Milton at first managed to cash out after debuting Nikola on the stock exchange through a Spac agreement and after his statements made the company’s stock soar. A Hindenburg Research report exposed the deception, and the sand castle built by Milton quickly dissolved, until he resigned.
Now, the entrepreneur faces a lawsuit with the New York Attorney Audrey strauss. “After all, this is a very simple case” the prosecutor said. “Milton Told Lies to Generate Demand for His Actions”. Prosecutors do know that Milton was taken into custody last Thursday and was subsequently released on $ 100 million bail. His lawyer, Marc Mukasey, said in an email: Trevor Milton innocent. been wrongfully accused after an incomplete investigation. He will be cleared after the trial “.
However, the plaintiffs appear to have overwhelming evidence. They claim that the Nikola truck presentation events were rigged and that on these occasions the trucks were towed to strategic positions and then connected to hidden wall sockets. Prosecutors say the prototypes of the presentations did not actually work as they were the fruit of the union of parts from other vehicles.
In one case, it seems that duct tape was used to prevent the doors of a truck from opening. Meanwhile, Milton publicly stated that the first prototypes of Nikola trucks were in production and that the company continued to receive many booking requests.
Prosecutors said that because the company did not go public through a traditional IPO but through a corporate investment vehicle, Milton was not bound by limits on public statements and that this allowed him to inflate the value of the shares.
Thanks to these mechanisms, Milton’s stock value increased by $ 7 billion. After it emerged that the company was under investigation, the stock plummeted causing many investors to lose tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the indictment. In some cases, these were inexperienced investors who began investing during the COVID 19 pandemic to supplement lost income.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a parallel civil procedure. “Having chosen to promote Nikola through social media, Milton was required by law to communicate fully, accurately and truthfully.”, he has declared Thursday Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This obligation exists for all officials of public companies, even those whose companies have only recently entered public markets through SPAC operations”.
Over time Nikola has entered into important collaboration agreements with established companies in the transport sector such as General Motors, for the production of the electric-hydrogen pick-up Badger, e Iveco, per Nikola TRE, a battery-powered electric vehicle.
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