Nikola Shares Slide As Founder Trevor Milton Indicted On 3 Counts Of Fraud

EV truck maker Nikola (NKLA) shares were down over 10% mid-morning Thursday as founder Trevor Milton was indicted on three counts of criminal fraud by a grand jury.

Milton, who resigned as CEO of the company in September 2020, was indicted for allegedly lying about “nearly all aspects of the business," according to the indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday and obtained by CNBC.

He was charged with two counts of securities fraud and wire fraud for lying about Nikola’s products, technology, and future sales prospects, the news outlet said.

The indictment continued, according to Business Insider, “Milton's scheme targeted individual, non-professional investors - so called retail investors - by making false and misleading statements directly to the investing public through social media, and television, print and podcast interviews.”

The investigation by the DOJ came after a short-seller report from Hindenberg Research was released in September claiming that Milton made false claims to investors to advance Nikola in the EV market.

The report allegedly suggested that Milton rolled one of its vehicles down a hill to make it look like it was being driven in a promotional video, Business Insider said. The report also called Milton an “intricate fraud.”

Nikola denied the claims in the report, calling them “false and defamatory.”

Shortly after the report was released, Milton stepped down from his position as CEO and chairmen with the company.

As part of the indictment, Milton may have to forfeit all property “traceable to the commission of said offenses," which Business Insider said could include the more than $1 billion he made when Nikola launched its IPO through a SPAC merger in June 2020, according to the grand jury.

Milton held about $8.5 billion in Nikola stock at the height of the company’s value and was at the time the largest shareholder of the EV truck-maker.

Prosecutors said Milton “was motivated to engage in the fraudulent scheme in order to enrich himself and elevate his stature as an entrepreneur,” according to CNBC.

Since Milton left the company, Nikola has abandoned its plans to launch the Badger electric pickup truck after General Motors walked away from a deal to produce the vehicle in November 2020.

Milton was also accused of sexually assaulting two women, who were under the age of 15 at the time, in two separate incidents. One allegedly was his cousin, Aubrey Ferrin Smith, and the other claimed to be an office assistant at a security company he operated in Utah.

Nicholas Biase, a U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman, told CNCB that Milton surrendered to authorities and is expected to be in court later today in New York.

In a statement to CNBC, Nikola emphasized that the indictment is against Milton and not the company, saying that it is cooperating “with the government throughout the course of its inquiry.”

Shares of Nikola were trading at $13.14 as of 11:03 a.m. EDT on Thursday, down $1.05, or 7.43%.