President Donald Trump relaxed Nicola Corp founder Trevor Milton to cheat investors for his 2022 federal offenses, who belonged to cheating investors with false claims about the success of electric and hydrogen-operated truck manufacturer.
Milton, 42, was sentenced to four years in jail in December 2023, but has been independent since then pending the appeal of former CEO criminal guilty on allegations of securities and wire fraud at the US district court in Manhattan.
Federal prosecutors ordered District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos to order Milton to pay Nicola shareholders to pay the restoration of $ 680 million, and or ordered Peter Hicks to pay his wire hicks to Peter Hicks, the victim of his wire cheating Peter Hicks.
Because of forgiveness, Ramos cannot order any kind of restoration.
The founder of Nicola Corp, Trevor Milton, comes to court in New York on Monday, September 12, 2022.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty images
Milton said in an Instagram video posted on his personal account on Thursday, “Oh my gosh, oh, you would not believe what happened.” “Perhaps the best day I have done in five years.”
Milton said, “I only got a call from the President of the United States on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional forgiveness.”
“I am independent. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me,” he said. “They cannot destroy my family, they cannot get away everything from me, they cannot waste my life.”
The White House confirmed the forgiveness.
Trump later asked Friday why he apologized to Milton.
“I think he was excluded,” Trump said told reporters at the White House. “And then they brought him to New York, he had a rough, rough road, and … he was excluded. It was a big festival.”
Milton was convicted in the trial in October 2022.
Trump said, “He says that what he had done wrong was one of the first people who supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for the President.” “He supported Trump. He liked Trump. I did not know him, but he liked him.”
Trump said about Milton, “They persecuted him, he destroyed five years of his life. He fought for five years of his life, and he did nothing wrong.”
“And he is a good person.”
The defense lawyers for Milton did not respond to the recommendations of the comment immediately.
Milton said in a statement that one of his lawyers Bradley Bondi did not work on his application for an forgiveness.
Bondi is the brother of American Attorney General Palm Bondi, who was appointed to his post by Trump.
A spokesman for the Manhattan American Attorney Office, who sued Milton, refused to comment on forgiveness.
Manhattan American Attorney Office, when it received an indictment against Milton in 2021, said some investors cheated by his plan, “suffering a loss of tens and even thousands of dollars, in some cases, in some cases, there was a loss of retirement or loss of money, which they borrowed to invest in Nicola.”
In a press release on Thursday, Milton said, “This forgiveness is not only about me – it’s about every American that has been railroad by the government, and unfortunately, these are many people.”
Milton said that there are “striking similarities” between his case and who have been brought against President Trump. “
The President was charged in four criminal cases between his first and second positions at the White House.
After Trump was elected in November, the US Justice Department demanded the dismissal of two federal matters, citing the policy of a department, which prevents the federal prosecution of the sitting presidents.
Following Milton’s 2023 sentence, former CEO of Nicola made significant political donations to Trump and his colleagues. It included $ 920,000 for Trump 47 Committee in October 2024 and $ 750,000 Robert F. Kennedy Junior’s Maha alliance political action committee in September.
In 2024, a former independent presidential candidate Kennedy was recently confirmed by Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary.
The federal campaign finance records indicate that 2024 was the first year which Milton had once made a six-day political contribution.
By noon on Friday, there was no file in the Manhattan Federal Court or 2 circuit US court of appeals indicated that the criminal case against Milton was abolished due to an forgiveness.
However, it is not uncommon for the notice of presidential positions that they will be filed with the court after several days.
CEO of Trever Milton of Nicola
Massimo Pinca | Roots
Milton said in a press release, “It is no wonder that trust and trust in the Department of Justice have happened.”
He said, “I want the judges to stop believing that the prosecutors feed them so that the Americans could rely on the justice system,” he said. “Until this does not happen, our justice system will continue to disappear until anything is left.”
If the forgiveness of Trump’s Milton, if confirmed, would erase his criminal punishment and punishment, including a fine of $ 1 million.
A wire of forgiveness
Earlier this month, Trump waived the former Tennessi State Sen Bryan Kelsi, who started serving a 21 -month jail sentence after being convicted in the federal campaign Finance conspiracy.
In that case, it took him a week after Kelsey was released from jail for notice of being filed in the federal court.
Earlier this week, Trump signed a full and unconditional forgiveness for former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s one -time business partner Devon Archer.
Like Milton, Archer was also convicted in a fraud case.
US President Donald Trump has given an active grant of apology for Devon Archer at the White House on Washington, DC, US, March 25, 2025.
Evelyn Hawkstein | Roots
Just after his 20 January inauguration, Trump specifically waived around 1,500 people who were either charged or convicted of crimes related to January 6, 2021, attacking American capital by a mob of supporters of the President.
On its second day at the office, Trump waived Ross Albriich, who was serving life imprisonment for crimes related to his dark web marketplace Silk Road.
In February, the former village of Illinois received a President’s post. After the first-period Senator was elected President in 2008, Bloggevich, who was convicted for an attempt to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, was sentenced to eight years in jail.
Nicola collapse
In February, Nicola filed in the US insolvency court in the Delaware for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company said in a filing that it had liabilities between $ 1 billion and $ 10 billion, and had assets between $ 500 million and $ 1 billion. It also demanded court approval to carry forward business sales, stating that he had about $ 47 million in cash.
Nicola, which mainly makes all-electric and fuel cell electric semi-trucks, has fought in recent years. The company had sold only 600 vehicles since 2022, as its recent third quarter.
As the capital of the company has shrunk, many of its trucks have been called back as a result of the defects. In its third quarter conference call, the company warned investors that it had enough cash to operate in the first quarter of 2025, but not beyond that.
Nicola tray fessv2
Courtesy: Nicola
Nicola collapse comes in 2020 exactly five years after market capitalization of $ 30 billion Paid Those days.
Milton was assessed by misleading statements, convicted in July 2021.
According to prosecutors, from November 2019 to September 2020, Milton inspired non-professional investors through false and misleading statements about Nicola’s product development … through social media and television, print and podcast interviews. “
“Milton made false claims about almost all aspects of Nicola’s business,” Manhattan American Attorney’s office said at the time of its prosecution.
They included false claims “that the company had an initial success in making a ‘completely working’ half-truck prototype known as ‘Nicola One’, when Milton knew that the prototype was inactive.”
The office also stated that Milton “made false and misleading statements that Nicola had engineered and used Nicola’s parts and technology to make an electric- and hydrogen-powered pickup truck known as ‘The Bejar’ from ‘the Bejar’, when Milton knew that it was not true.”
Final decline, a judge confirmed the arbitration award of about $ 168 million against Milton for his misleading statements about Nicola.
– CNBC Imon Javors Contributed to this story.
