US Charges Former Truck Maker With Misleading Investors On Social Media - Regulator

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) The founder of a US manufacturing firm specializing in trucks that run on alternative fuels faces charges of enriching himself by fleecing investors with misleading reports on social media, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Thursday.

"The SEC's complaint, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that [Trevor] Milton founded Nikola in 2015 with the Primary goal of manufacturing trucks that run on alternative fuels with low or zero emissions, and building an alternative fuel station infrastructure to support those vehicles," an commission press release said.

Milton allegedly helped his firm, Nikola, raise more than $1 billion in private offerings and go public with a social media campaign that either misstated or far exceeded what Nikola and its products actually did or could do, the release also said.

In the process, Milton ultimately reaped tens of millions of Dollars in personal benefits as a result of his misconduct, the release added.

The complaint charges Milton with violating the anti-fraud provisions of US securities laws and also seeks to bar the firmer executive from serving as an officer or director, disgorgement and civil penalties, according to the release.