Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Accused Of Sexual Assault By Two Women

Nikola (NKLA) founder Trevor Milton has found himself under more scrutiny as he has been accused of sexual assault by two women, who were 15-years-old at the time of the alleged acts, CNBC reported.

Milton, who resigned from hydrogen-electric truck maker Nikola in mid-September after a damaging report by Hindenburg Research claimed he defrauded investors, has denied the claims. Milton stepped down from his position as chairman shortly after the report was released, and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice was initiated.

One of the women, Aubrey Ferrin Smith, a cousin to Milton, claimed on Twitter and Facebook that he groped her bare breast after a family funeral in Salt Lake City in 1999. She was 15 at the time, and he was 17-years-old. Ferrin Smith has now filed a formal complaint with the police in Holladay, Utah, where the alleged incident took place, CNBC reported.

The second alleged incident took place when Milton was 22. At the time, he had hired a 15-year-old girl as an office assistant at a security company he operated in St. George, Utah, Craig Johnson, the attorney representing the women, told the news outlet.

“The allegation by my client is that he digitally penetrated her vagina with his fingers, which under Utah law constitutes object rape, and that is the charge the police will be investigating, in addition to forcible sexual abuse, which includes any ancillary touching of the vagina during the assault,” Johnson said in an interview with CNBC.

Brandon Messina, a spokesman for Milton, told CNBC that Milton denies the claims against him. He said: “Mr. Milton strongly denies these false allegations. At no point in his life has Mr. Milton ever engaged in any inappropriate physical contact with anyone.”

The news of the alleged sexual assaults comes just three weeks after a $2 billion deal was made with General Motors (GM) to produce Nikola’s hydrogen-electric Badger pickup truck.

A General Motors spokesperson did not indicate if the automaker was aware of the allegations against Milton, but told CNBC in a statement, “Our transaction with Nikola has not closed. We are continuing our discussions with Nikola and will provide further updates when appropriate or required.”

The deal between the two companies is expected to close by Wednesday.

Both women have reported the incidents to the Utah authorities, CNBC said.

Shares of Nikola were trading at $18.70 before market open, down 60 cents or 3.11% while shares of GM were trading at $29.37, down 7 cents or 0.24% at the same time.