Nikola founder Trevor Milton stands trial on fraud charges, capping a stunning rise and fall

CEO and founder of U.S. Nikola, Trevor Milton speaks during presentation of its new full-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell battery trucks in partnership with CNH Industrial, at an event in Turin, Italy December 2, 2019.

The founder of an electric semitruck maker is standing trial on fraud charges related to statements he made about the company.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the founder of the company lied about almost all aspects of the business. Those lies were supposed to bolster sales of the startup's stock. The charges have been denied by the man.

He lied to investors to get them to buy his company's stock. He became a billionaire on the back of innocent investors taking in his lies.

The trial started with jury selection on Monday. The proceedings were expected to last about five weeks.

There was a stunning rise and fall of the man.

The stock price of the company jumped to more than $90 per share in June 2020 after it merged with a special-purpose acquisition company. The stock run-up made a company that didn't yet have revenue worth more than a company that did.

After fraud allegations were made by a short-seller, the company's shares plummeted. The Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation after he left, and he was indicted on three counts of fraud. In June, prosecutors added a fourth count.

The stock price on Tuesday was $5.03 per share.

Two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud are related to statements he made while he was the company's CEO. He could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

According to Mukasey, Milton wanted to convey a vision for the future of trucking. According to Mukasey, the defense plans to argue that other executives at the company signed off on the statements.

There are no charges against the man in this case. The company paid a $125 million fine after the SEC brought civil charges against them. The company has cutTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia

As part of a scheme intended to induce retail investors to buy shares of the company, prosecutors claim that Milton made false and misleading statements about the company. The prosecutors alleged.

• Milton said that the company’s first semitruck prototype, called the Nikola One, was “fully functional” – but it wasn’t.
• A video showing the prototype truck apparently driving under its own power was created by rolling the truck — which couldn’t drive on its own — down a hill.
• Separately, Milton claimed that Nikola had engineered and built an electric pickup truck called the Badger, entirely on its own, after years of work. But, prosecutors say, the Badger was little more than “concept sketches and renderings” at the time of Milton’s initial statements.
• While the company eventually showed a prototype Badger, the show truck was in fact built by third-party vendors and based on a truck from a large automaker.
• Milton also told investors that Nikola was producing hydrogen gas — needed to refuel its fuel-cell-powered trucks — at a reduced cost; that Nikola had developed electric-vehicle batteries in-house; and that Nikola had binding orders representing “billions in revenue” for its electric trucks. All of those statements were false, according to prosecutors.

In an attempt to get the seller to accept the stock as part of the purchase of the ranch, Milton is accused of making misrepresentations to the seller.

The full case againstMilton is expected to be presented to the jury on Wednesday.

This report was contributed to by the news agency.