Social media lights up after Trump pardons 'biggest scam artist' in the auto industry
Trevor Milton, who founded hydrogen-powered truck company Nikola and was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump.
"The pardon came two weeks after federal prosecutors urged District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos to order Milton to pay restitution of $680 million to Nikola shareholders, and another $15.2 million to Peter Hicks, a victim of his wire fraud," CNBC reported. But, "Because of the pardon, Ramos could not order restitution of any kind."
In a press release Thursday, Milton said that there are “striking similarities” between his case “and those brought against President Trump.”
On social media, writer @Out5p0ken picked up on those "similarities, posting, "Trump pardons Trevor Milton, the founder of bankrupt electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker Nikola who was convicted of fraud after a jury found him guilty of lying to investors about the company's technology. Criminal pardoning criminal."
Finance writer @DrOrtmeyer, posted, "Trevor Milton was the CEO of a company called NIKOLA. Look into it. He’s easily the biggest scam artist in the car industry. Volkswagen turning back the emission numbers doesn’t even come close. This pardon is INSANELY bad."
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"Wow. Pathetic and disgusting," wrote financial expert @Mayhem4Markets. "What possible reason could there be to grant a full pardon to Trevor Milton of failed EV truckmaker Nikola? Is this just a tacit acknowledgement that scamming investors isn't wrong from the meme coin rugpull president?"
Podcaster @operationdanish wrote, "
"There's just no reason to do this unless you want to further degrade the rule of law and condone massive frauds," wrote podcaster @SilvermanJacob.
Milton had been free pending appeal of his 2022 conviction in New York federal court. His company, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February.