Fake it until you make it: Fraudulent founders

In 2015, Trevor Milton founded green vehicle and energy company Nikola Corp., which garnered a big win in 2020 with the signing of a $2 billion General Motors partnership. Weeks later, investment-research firm Hindenburg Research reported that the company’s success was “an intricate fraud,” based on “an ocean of lies.” According to the report, to counter skepticism over the truck’s functionality, Nikola staged a video showing it at high speed. Hindenburg uncovered former employees’ texts, showing an elaborate ruse that involved filming the truck after being towed to the top of a hill and released. The report and numerous allegations resulted in Milton stepping down as board chair and chief executive officer (CEO) and his subsequent arrest. (See “Nikola: How to Parlay An Ocean of Lies Into a Partnership With the Largest Auto OEM in America,” by Hindenburg Research, Sept. 10, 2020.)