The fraudster of the century, Bernard Madoff, ended his days in a federal prison in North Carolina, in April 2021, at the age of 82. His younger counterparts do not seem likely to meet this grim fate: The American president, Donald Trump, continues to pardon economic offenders, swindlers of investors, and inveterate liars. “There’s never been a better time to be a white-collar crook,” the news site Axios wrote.
The latest example is Trevor Milton, age 42, founder of hydrogen fuel cell company Nikola, accused of blatantly lying to investors about the advancement of his technology, with staged scenes of heavy trucks falsely towed by a hydrogen machine. In 2022, he was sentenced by a jury to four years in prison. His company, which had reached a valuation of $30 billion, eventually went bankrupt in February.
Milton, who was free pending his appeal, announced his pardon on March 27, filming himself driving his car. “I just got a call from the president of the United States on my phone, and he signed my full and unconditional pardon of innocence. I am free. The prosecutors can no longer hurt me. They can’t destroy my family,” said the former entrepreneur. In passing, he revealed the motivations behind Trump’s decision: He’s “an amazing man that cared enough to call me personally to tell me how must of an injustice this all was, done by the same offices that harassed and prosecuted him.”
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