TODAY’S FRAUD

Trevor Milton

Nikola Corporation · 2020

Securities fraud / product demonstration fraud

Trevor Milton founded Nikola Corporation, which went public via SPAC in June 2020 and briefly reached a $34B market cap. Short-seller Hindenburg Research exposed the fraud: Nikola's 2018 'driving' demo was actually the truck rolling downhill with no drivetrain. Milton had made dozens of materially false statements about technology, orders, and capabilities. He resigned in September 2020, was convicted on all counts in October 2022, and sentenced to 4 years in federal prison in December 2023.