Prosecutors had sought a sentence “in line” with the 11 years recommended by probation officials,saying a lengthy term of incarceration was needed both to punish Milton and deter other corporate executives from similar misconduct. The government said Milton’s fraud cost investors $US660 million.
A teary Milton had asked the judge to sentence him only to probation,saying he didn’t intend to mislead investors and made mistakes due to a lack of experience.
“I was not a very seasoned CEO,” he said.
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Ramos allowed Milton to remain free on bail while he appealed his conviction. Milton said after the sentencing that he believes the verdict will be overturned.
The jury took only a few hours to convict Milton in October 2022 after a two-month trial featuring testimony from more than a dozen government witnesses and evidence including an infamous viral video that appeared to show a Nikola semi prototype travelling under its own power. It was actually rolling downhill thanks to gravity.
Milton’s case was unusual among white-collar fraud cases because he was accused of making misrepresentations through public channels like YouTube,rather than in financial statements or other corporate filings.