Nikola expects $125 million SEC penalty beneath proposed decision

Embattled electrical truck maker Nikola expects to incur a civil penalty of $125 million beneath a possible decision with the Securities and Change Fee relating to the corporate deceptive buyers.

The corporate Thursday stated it has “been engaged in discussions relating to a decision” to the probe that, if authorized, would come with a $125 million civil penalty paid in installments over time. The deal is contingent on a vote of the SEC commissioners, Nikola stated in a launch.

The SEC didn’t instantly reply for remark.

The SEC opened the investigation following short-seller Hindenburg Analysis accusing the corporate and its founder and CEO Trevor Milton of mendacity to buyers about Nikola’s enterprise and applied sciences.

The SEC probe is separate from one by the Division of Justice in addition to prison fraud costs in opposition to Milton that had been introduced in June. A federal grand jury accused Milton of mendacity about “almost all facets of the enterprise” to bolster inventory gross sales of the electrical automobile start-up

Individually, Nikola stated it’s going to search reimbursement from Milton for prices and damages in reference to the federal government and regulatory investigations. In 2020, Nikola paid about $1.5 million of Milton’s authorized charges.

The actions had been introduced along side the corporate reporting its third-quarter outcomes, together with an adjusted 22-cent loss per share that was narrower than the 28-cent loss anticipated by analysts compiled by Refinitiv.