By Corinne Ramey and Ben Foldy

President Trump pardoned Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who had been convicted of fraud in federal court for what prosecutors said were his lies to investors about his zero-emissions trucks.

Milton said in a video posted to social media Thursday that he received a call from Trump, who spoke about "how much of an injustice this all was, done by the same offices that harassed and prosecuted him."

"The greatest comeback story in America is about to happen," added Milton. The White House on Friday confirmed that the pardon had been granted.

A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Milton in 2022 of one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Milton as a con man who duped investors, including in podcasts and on social media, about the company's sales and the capabilities of its vehicles. In one instance, prosecutors said, he created a video of what appeared to be a driving truck driving -- by rolling an inoperable prototype down a hill.

Milton maintained his innocence and said he had acted in good faith, accusing prosecutors of cherry-picking his public statements to build their case.

He was sentenced to four years in prison but remained out on bond while he appealed his conviction.

Brad Bondi, a lawyer for Milton, didn't respond to a request for comment. Brad Bondi is the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Campaign finance records show that Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to a Trump fundraising committee in October.

Milton, 42 years old, founded Nikola in his basement in 2015. He took it public in 2020 at a valuation of $3.3 billion. He resigned from the company later that year after a short seller report alleged he made misrepresentations about the status of the company's vehicles and the production of hydrogen fuel needed to run them.

Nikola, whose market value briefly eclipsed that of automaker Ford before the fraud case against Milton, filed for bankruptcy last month, as it struggled with high costs and its efforts to convince the trucking industry to abandon diesel engines.

Milton has sold roughly $400 million in stock in Nikola, which delisted its shares from the Nasdaq a few days ago. Two weeks ago, federal prosecutors asked the judge from Milton's criminal case to order him to pay back nearly $661 million to shareholders.

Trump has issued a raft of pardons since taking office, and has vowed to crack down on what he has described as the weaponization of the justice system. Trump was twice indicted by the Justice Department after his first term and separately convicted of falsifying records in state court in New York. Both federal cases have been dismissed, and Trump is appealing the state conviction.

Earlier this week, Trump pardoned Devon Archer, the former Hunter Biden business partner who gave congressional testimony about their business dealings. Milton, Archer and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, whom Trump also pardoned, were all prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. The Justice Department has also asked a judge to drop a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was charged by the same office.

Write to Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com and Ben Foldy at ben.foldy@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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

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