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Trevor Milton, Nikola Corp’s (NASDAQ:NKLA) founder and former CEO, was dealt a blow during his fraud trial on Wednesday. According to reports by Bloomberg, the jury in Milton’s trial was told that the ex-CEO broke his own company’s social media rules, sharing potentially nonpublic information on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Milton is accused of lying about the company’s progress to investors and the public, and ignoring policies on the treatment of confidential information, including financial and product matters.
Nikola’s social media and digital marketing manager, Stephanie Amzallag testified she tried to follow what Milton was posting to his personal accounts as well as his professional pages, because he would share information that wasn’t known within the company. However, she said she didn’t have the technical background to verify the accuracy of some of his statements.
Milton is accused of duping investors by making inoperable products look fully functional and of lying about the company’s technology and partnerships. The defense argues he was just following the company’s marketing plan and never said anything he didn’t believe to be true.
Shares of NKLA are down 6.47% near the end of trading Wednesday.
