Two women have come forward with formal sexual assault allegations against Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) founder Trevor Milton, dating back to when they were teens, accusing the 38-year-old billionaire in complaints filed with Utah authorities.
The accusations, stretching back more than 15 years ago, follow Milton’s resignation as executive chairman of Nikola on Sept. 21 after short seller Hindenburg Research released a damning report detailing fraud allegations. The report has reportedly sparked inquiries into Milton and Nikola by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice.
Since the Hindenburg report dropped a little over two weeks ago, the shareholder lawsuits and personal attacks on social media have started to pour in.
For his part, Milton has "strongly denied" what he said were false allegations and declined to address the specific details of the women’s complaints.
The company went public June 4 and Milton was riding high as one of Wall Street’s newly minted billionaires under 40.
Although Phoenix-based Nikola hadn’t produced a single vehicle, the start-up had a market value of $28.8 billion days after its IPO — a smidge more than Ford Motor (NYSE:F) — and Milton briefly had a paper net worth of more than $8.6 billion. General Motors (NYSE:GM) signed a deal with Nikola to provide technology and build its electric pickup trucks on Sept. 8.
The Hindenburg report was followed by bombshell allegations over social media Sept. 21 from Milton’s cousin Aubrey Ferrin Smith, who publicly accused Milton over Twitter and Facebook of groping her bare breasts after a family funeral outside Salt Lake City in 1999 when she was 15 and he was 17 years old.
Ferrin Smith filed a formal complaint Saturday with the local police in Holladay, Utah, where the alleged assault took place. Sgt. Melody Cutler with the Unified Police Department in Utah confirmed that a report was filed against Milton as well as the details repeating the accusations she made over Twitter.
NKLA shares retreated 98 cents, or 5.1%, early Tuesday to $18.32
