Trevor Milton, founder and former CEO of Nikola Corp., leaves Manhattan Federal Court after an appearance in New York City, U.S., on July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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June 21 (Reuters) – Trevor Milton, the billionaire founder and former CEO of Nikola Corp (NKLA.O), has asked a federal judge to block evidence related to his “wealth, lifestyle, or spending habits” at his trial. for fraud charges.
A Monday court filing showed that Milton’s attorneys told US District Judge Edgardo Ramos that details of Milton’s wealth were “unfairly prejudicial” and could mislead a jury.
US prosecutors criminally charged Milton with defrauding investors by lying to them about Nikola, the Phoenix-based electric truck maker he founded in 2014.
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Prosecutors say he wrongly claimed that Nikola had built an electric and hydrogen-powered pickup truck from scratch, developed batteries that he knew the company was buying elsewhere, and that the company was making progress on a prototype truck that he knew didn’t work. .
Milton also targeted retail investors with a PR blitz of social media posts as well as television interviews and podcasts to boost Nikola’s share price, authorities alleged.
His lawyers also filed a request Monday to exclude evidence of the circumstances of retail investors during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying those circumstances did not affect whether or not Milton committed wire or securities fraud.
Nikola declined to comment on Milton’s court filing.
Judge Ramos in November of last year had rejected Milton’s claim that he should not have been charged in New York for wire and securities fraud because his alleged lies were in Arizona and Utah, where he lives, and the case belonged there, in Anyway. read more
The company’s share price has fallen more than 90% from its June 2020 all-time high.
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Reporting from Uday Sampath in Bangalore; Edited by Vinay Dwivedi
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Source: www.reuters.com