MW Trevor Milton, who was pardoned by Trump, may have cost investors more than half a billion dollars

By Steve Goldstein and Lukas I. Alpert

Retail investors lost millions due to the fraud perpetrated by Trevor Milton, prosecutors said in court documents just two weeks ago.

Milton late Thursday said he has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. A White House official confirmed the pardon.

Milton was convicted in 2023 of defrauding investors by lying about the technological breakthroughs at electric-vehicle maker Nikola when he was chief executive. Most infamously, a prototype electric truck was rolled down a hill, a fact first identified by the short-selling research firm Hindenburg Research.

Matthew Podolsky, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, submitted a filing earlier this month asking the court to order Milton to pay $661 million in restitution to retail investors.

"As part of the Court's sentence, it imposed an order of restitution, but deferred determining an amount until after receiving additional information from the parties. The parties attempted to negotiate a resolution of the restitution issue, but were unable to reach an agreement," Podolsky said.

The restitution figure was based on calculations made by a consulting firm, Compass Lexicon, based on trading between Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, 2020 - when Hindenburg Research first alleged fraud at Nikola - and Sept. 21, when Milton resigned from Nikola (UK:0A3R).

The consulting firm estimated that retail customers who traded through TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and Robinhood lost a combined $268 million, and extrapolated from there the loss for other retail investors.

According to the filing, Milton said the loss amount was zero.

Milton on Thursday posted a video on social media about his pardon.

"What's up, guys? Oh my gosh," he said. "I just got a call from the president of the United States on my phone and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence. I am free."

Milton compared his plight to that of the president, who has also faced legal troubles. "Done by the same offices that harassed and prosecuted him," he said.

Milton also suggested he might not be done with the business world. "The greatest comeback story in America is about to happen," he said.

-Steve Goldstein -Lukas I. Alpert

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2025 10:06 ET (14:06 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.