Nikola Founder Milton Sentenced To 4 Years After Invoking Cherokee Heritage, Mother’s Cancer, At Bizarre Hearing

Update 1338EST: Milton has been sentenced to four years. 

AUSA Podolsky: We can have it out later on the precise contours of the property.
Judge Ramos: It is my intention to impose a sentence of 48 months on each count, concurrently. I will impose a fine of $1 million.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2023

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Disgraced Nikola founder Trevor Milton is having his sentencing hearing today. A jury found Nikola founder Trevor Milton guilty of defrauding investors back in October 2022. 

Inner City Press is doing an incredible job of live Tweeting the sentencing hearing as it is taking place. 

After reportedly going through the perfunctory back-and-forth arguments between the prosecutor and Milton’s defense attorneys, Milton spoke on his own behalf in what can only be described as one of the most batsh*t insane and obviously completely exaggerated sob stories ever put forth inside of a courtroom.

As far as Milton’s strategy, it seemed to be “throw every single thing possible against the wall and see what – if anything – sticks” type of strategy. He invoked his Cherokee heritage, his wife’s Lyme disease, his mother’s breast cancer and his LDS faith, among other things.

Speaking on his own behalf while sobbing, here are paraphrased quotes of his speech per the Inner City Press Twitter account. Milton told the judge: “I feel terrible for everyone involved. I had amazing parents. I’d like to give you detailed examples of who I really am. I ask you to open your heart, the Bible says God looks at the heart. Please listen to the end before deciding.”

He started by referencing the fact that he is one quarter Cherokee indian and that his ancestors faced ethnic cleansing (we swear we aren’t making this up): “As I reflect on my heritage (pulls tissues out of box) Sorry your Honor, I never had to talk about these things before. I am one quarter Cherokee – there was ethnic cleansing against my ancestors.”

Trevor Milton is crying and talking about how hard it is to be a Native American at his sentencing hearing. https://t.co/tB43jkz8PF

— Nate Anderson (@NateHindenburg) December 18, 2023

“My people were driven into Oklahoma. The trauma is visible on reservations. The generational trauma ended with my mother, she refused to pass it down to her children. From the time I was young I had an unusually tender heart,” he continued.

He then told the judge his mother’s breasts had to be removed due to cancer: “In the third grade I saw Where the Red Fern Grows – I cried, and others laughed at me. I knew I would never be understood. Then my mother got sick. There was morphine for cancer. The doctors removed my mother’s breasts. She was bald.”

Milton followed that by offering an extensive litany about heaven: “My father sold our homes… Our garage was empty. Contrary to the hundreds of articles by the fake media, I was not entitled. Here are some moments I’ve never even told my family about. My mother told me how beautiful Heaven is, she’d visited. My mother said there are colors in heaven that don’t exist on Earth. Your purity is broadcast in colors. For the first time in my life, excuse me, for the first time in your life, you are reviewed totally. Those who sought destruction were filth.”

“The process of repentance can take thousands of years on the other side. It is called Hell. Each decision is broadcast to billions of God’s creations. Our ability to absorb information is almost infinite. From that point on, I remember everything,” he continued.

Milton then figured it would be a good time to make an analogue to being wrongfully accused, which he did by invoking boxer Ruben Carter. He told the judge: “Ruben Carter, one of the greatest African American boxers, was framed – he was found guilty by a jury too. In 1995 black and Latino teenagers were convicted right here in NYC. There reputations were destroyed. DNA exonerated them.”

He then told the judge he “lived in one of the poorest areas in the world” during one of his LDS missions (which are usually mandatory, not voluntary in the LDS church). 

He followed that by talking about how his arm had been cut off: “My arm got cut off by a glass door. I nearly died from living in the favelas. I see the good in all things, I try to fix problems wherever I do. No more could I strip your Honor’s heritage from you than you could find ill in my heart. I had no tutors.”

“While others played polo, I went to the favelas. But I have compassion,” he said. “That is my calling on Earth. It is difficult to get into Heaven. I did not commit those crimes. It is impossible for me to purposely hurt others or take what is not mine.”

Milton also claimed he stepped down (after the massive fraud allegations) because his wife was sick, not due to the allegations: “I stepped down because my wife was suffering live (sic) threatening sickness. She suffered medical malpractice, someone else’s plasma. So I stepped down for that – not because I was a fraud. The truth matters. I chose my wife over money or power.”

Recall, Milton was charged with three counts of fraud and making false claims regarding “nearly all aspects of the business” according to the DOJ. 

“Prosecutors say that when Milton unveiled their tractor trailer truck it had to be plugged into the wall, the headlamps were activated by remote by a staffer, and air had to be pumped in because there was a slow leak in the air lines of the truck,” a CNBC report from 2021 continued.

“And yes, prosecutors do say part of Milton’s conduct was video of the Nikola truck in the Super Bowl ad was not in fact of a working truck but was towed to the top of a hill. Brakes were released and it rolled downhill.”

An SEC complaint filed last year revealed that footage of the truck “had been sped up two-to-three times” and that the video was “ultimately approved” by Milton. The DOJ complaint against Milton had alleged he “repeatedly made false and misleading statements about core aspects of Nikola’s products, technological advancements, and commercial prospects”.

“Grant me probation, my colors will shine in the future life,” he ended his speech by saying.

This full thread covers the entire hearing.