Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola, is one of the most high-profile figures at the center of the boom in SPAC deals. Yesterday he was hit with criminal and civil charges by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and the SEC, the New York Times’ DealBook reports.
Prosecutors accuse Milton of misleading investors about the technology for the company’s battery- and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Nikola went public in June last year by merging with a blank-check firm, VectorIQ, founded by a former G.M. executive.
Federal prosecutors and securities regulators are investigating the credibility of preorder claims at Lordstown Motors, an electric truckmaker that went public via SPAC last year. The SEC also recently settled a civil suit with several parties involved in the merger of space technology company Momentus with a SPAC. Read more.
