Nikola’s founder Trevor Milton is weeks away from learning whether he’ll go to jail or not. I’m no legal expert, but if my defense team’s main argument was I’m not quite as bad as Elizabeth Holmes, I’d be shaving my head and brushing up on my prison slang.

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Nikola founder Trevor Milton seeks probation after fraud conviction

Trevor Milton is trying to stay out of jail. The founder of electric truckmaker Nikola was convicted last year on two counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Court officials are recommending between 17.5 and 22 years in prison, but his lawyers are arguing he should get probation.

Let’s wind back. Milton founded Nikola Motor Company in 2015 to create zero-emission 18-wheel trucks powered by electricity or hydrogen. In 2020, he took the company public through a reverse merger, valuing it at $34 billion – more than Ford. But months later, short seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing Milton of making false statements, calling the company an “intricate fraud”.

Among other things, Hindenburg claimed that Nikola had bought parts from a supplier despite claiming to have made them in-house, covering the branding with tape during a demonstration. It also said Nikola faked a product video by rolling a Nikola One truck downhill to cover up the fact it had no working engine, and filming it to appear as if it were being driven.

Milton’s lawyers have tried a few lines of argument.

First, they claim Milton never acted in a “greedy or mean-spirited way” and didn’t put Nikola’s customers at risk. Lawyers made a comparison with Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was initially sentenced to more than 11 years in jail. By comparison, they argue Holmes used blood-testing technology that she knew to be unreliable, putting human beings at medical risk.

Second, lawyers argue that Milton wasn’t duping insiders. Whatever Milton did, he did with the full knowledge of Nikola’s executives and board of directors. There were no fake documents or cooking the books, and no threats to anyone to keep quiet.

Third, they say Milton has suffered enough. He was the subject of an episode of CNBC’s American Greed documentary series, as well as a Wall Street Journal podcast called The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, and was subjected to “shocking and unspeakable harassment online”.

Will it be enough to spare Milton a hefty jail sentence? We’ll find out at his sentencing on November 28.

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