At the same time, Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola Corporation, is embroiled in a legal fight. He is currently battling a subpoena filed by the official committee of unsecured creditors. Our coalition has been fighting this battle the last two months. It will come to a head with a hearing scheduled for June 9. The purpose of the subpoena seems to be figuring out what Milton’s financial state is today. He may now owe Nikola almost $100 million in damages after the company filed for bankruptcy in February 2023.
The bankruptcy case appeared soon after an arbitration decision tied to Milton’s criminal conviction, which he also lost. According to Nikola’s legal team, Milton is “fraudulently transferring away tens of millions of dollars of his assets in order to hinder, delay, and defraud [Nikola] in [its] attempts to collect upon the Arbitration Award.” The company’s attorneys have charged that his good faith efforts to steer the case away from the current in-process bankruptcy proceedings.
Despite these financial troubles, Milton has recently made headlines for commissioning a documentary titled “Conviction or Conspiracy: The Trevor Milton Saga,” which is set to premiere on YouTube on June 10, 2025. He describes the film as revealing the “true story about how the so-called ‘justice system’ nearly destroyed an innocent man.”
Milton’s legal troubles consist of an appeal against a four-year prison sentence that he was given for defrauding investors over similar claims. In an unusual move, former President Donald Trump did him one better and issued a pardon. This decision is another unfortunate chapter to his increasingly complicated legal story.
Currently, even creditors argue that “Milton has not paid a dime. Today, Nikola and its founder are in the midst of enormous financial collapse. Few issues have generated more attention than this, as the company has undergone its post-bankruptcy growing pains. Since the beginning of the bankruptcy proceedings, the purpose has been obvious. We are looking to apply Milton’s arbitration award to settle a class action shareholder suit.
As the 48th Transportation and Infrastructure committee hearing on June 9 th will be very important. The ruling could have a huge impact on Milton’s personal liability and determine Nikola Corporation’s future. As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how Milton will respond to the challenges posed by creditors and the implications of his documentary project.