Nikola founder Trevor Milton found guilty of securities fraud

The founder of Nikola Corp. was convicted Friday of charges he deceived investors with claims about his company's progress in producing zero-emission 18-wheel trucks fueled by electricity or hydrogen.

A jury reached the verdict against Trevor Milton after deliberating for about five hours in federal court in New York. Milton plans to appeal the decision, his lawyer Marc Mukasey said. 

"We're going to keep fighting," he told reporters outside court.

Milton's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27. Milton, 40, had pleaded not guilty to securities and wire fraud. 

Mukasey urged acquittal, saying there was "a stunning lack of evidence" that his client ever intended to cheat investors.

Jury selection for Milton's case started last month, roughly two years after Nikola was accused of shady practices. A 2020 report from Hindenburg Research claimed the Nikola's success amounted to "an intricate fraud" and based on "an ocean of lies," including stenciling the words "hydrogen electric" on the side of a vehicle that was actually powered by natural gas.

In January, Nikola dropped a $2 billion patent lawsuit in which the EV startup had alleged Tesla stole the design of its Nikola One electric truck for the Tesla Semi, which was unveiled in 2017, reported Bloomberg. 

"The lies"

At trial, federal prosecutors have portrayed Milton, who resigned from the company two years ago, as a con man while his lawyer called him an inspiring visionary who was being railroaded by overzealous regulators.

"The lies — that is what this case is about," prosecutor Matthew Podolsky told the jury in closing arguments Thursday.

Prosecutors alleged that Nikola — founded by Milton in a Utah basement six years ago — falsely claimed to have built its own revolutionary truck that was actually a General Motors Corp. product with Nikola's logo stamped onto it. There also was evidence that the company produced videos of its trucks that were doctored to hide their flaws.

Nikola CEO Mark Russell was called as a witness and he testified that Milton "was prone to exaggeration" in pitching his venture to investors.