Trevor Milton, convicted Nikola founder and Utah entrepreneur, pardoned by Trump
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Trevor Milton arrives at a New York City courthouse in 2022. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In a recent spree of clemency for white collar criminals, President Trump has pardoned Utah entrepreneur Trevor Milton, who was convicted in 2022 of misleading investors in his hydrogen and electric truck company Nikola.
Why it matters: Milton will no longer have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution to Nikola shareholders who lost money.
- Prosecutors requested nearly $700 million just two weeks before Trump called Milton personally on March 27 to pardon him.
The intrigue: Milton and his wife together made contributions last October to Trump's reelection effort totaling over $1.8 million, federal records show.
- He has donated $2.85 million to conservative elected officials and campaign committees since 2016, the New York Times reported.
- Meanwhile, his attorney is the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi — though "a person close to the situation said he had not been involved in the pardon," the Financial Times reports. Neither attorney Brad Bondi nor the Justice Department provided comment to Axios.
Catch up quick: Milton, who grew up in southern Utah, founded the Nikola Motor Company in 2014 in Salt Lake to build low-emission electric semi trucks.
- Nikola went public in 2020. The next year, the SEC accused Milton of securities fraud and reached a $125 million settlement.
- He was convicted of criminal fraud charges in 2022 and sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison, but has been free on bond pending an appeal.
Threat level: Milton made "false claims regarding nearly all aspects of Nikola's business," DOJ said after the sentencing.
- At one point, he shared a video that purported to show a fully functional prototype. The truck actually was rolling down a small hill.
Zoom in: He also bought a sprawling Summit County ranch in exchange for cash and a $15 million stock option whose value cratered shortly thereafter. The $32.5 million purchase was Utah's priciest home sale in history.
- As with the proposed restitution for investors, the seller of the ranch will not recoup the $15 million because of Trump's pardon.
Flashback: In 2020, three Utah women accused Milton of sexual assault. He denied the accusations and has not been charged; the statute of limitations had expired in at least one of the cases.
- A friend who accused Milton of bragging of misconduct was charged by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes with extortion after Milton said he paid the friend $500,000 because "in this world, you're guilty no matter what when it comes to women," per a FOX 13 investigation.
- The friend, Jonny Robb, died from suicide. His family questioned why Reyes took the extortion case, as Milton had originally filed his blackmail complaint with the Summit County sheriff's office.
- FOX 13 found Milton had made a $15,000 contribution to Reyes' campaign; the campaign refunded it the day after FOX 13 inquired about the case.
What they're saying: "This pardon is not just about me—it's about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that's a lot of people," Milton said on X and in a news release.
The latest: The pardon comes about a month after Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.