NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Labaton Sucharow, a nationally ranked securities litigation firm, is investigating whether Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ:NKLA) and certain of its executives may be liable for securities fraud.
Before the markets opened on September 10, 2020, analyst Hindenburg Research published a scathing report calling Nikola “an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies.” Hindenburg wrote that it “gathered extensive evidence-including recorded phone calls, text messages, private emails, and behind-the-scenes photographs-detailing dozens of false statements by Nikola Founder Trevor Milton. We have never seen this level of deception at a public company, especially of this size.”
Hindenburg asserts that Nikola has misled investors concerning, among other things, its battery and hydrogen fuel cell claims, as well as its purported “multi-billion-dollar order book,” which Hindenburg asserts is “filled with fluff.” On this news, shares opened down approximately 9% from their September 9, 2020 closing price.
On September 15, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice has been making inquiries into claims levelled against truckmaker start-up Nikola in a short seller’s report, said people familiar with the conversations. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is interested in the report by Hindenburg Research, which said the electric vehicle maker misrepresented its proprietary technology and called the business an “intricate fraud”.
