Nikola Corp. says it has rejected a collection of five “dissident nominees” for its board of directors made by M&M Residual, LLC, a legal entity allegedly controlled by its disgraced founder and former executive chair, Trevor Milton. Among the nominees was Dave “Heavy D” Sparks, the star of the Discovery reality show, “Diesel Brothers.”
In a statement, the company says it reviewed the nominees made by M&M Residual, and found that they “add no skill or experience to the board, and indisputably lack the depth of experience” of the board’s current members.
In addition to Sparks, M&M Residual also recommended Cole Cannon, Derek Johnson, Hans Peterson, Paul Southam. Nikola has eight available board seats that it says are held by a group of individuals who are “reputable, leading experts in their respective fields.”
Read: Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Gets Prison Sentence For Fraud
The reasoning behind M&M Residual’s move is not yet clear, but this isn’t the first time Milton has tried to include Sparks in the Nikola business. Motor Trend reported that the two became friends in 2008 and the “Diesel Brothers” star was hired to help design the Badger, a hydrogen fuel cell pickup truck that the company previously planned to produce.
The vehicle became the source of some controversy, as claims about it (and other vehicles) made by Milton eventually led to a federal investigation. In 2020, he left the company, and late last year he was sentenced to 48 months in prison on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Milton also owes Nikola $165 million (plus interest) following the conclusion of arbitration. The company states that the amount remains unpaid and that it is exploring all legal avenues to recover the money.
That makes Milton’s attempt to nominate people to the board quite bold, and his choices don’t seem very well suited to the company. That’s because he isn’t the only who has run into recent legal issues. In 2020, Sparks’ shop was fined over $850,000 after a Utah judge found them guilty of violating the Clean Air Act. Interestingly, Cole Cannon represented the company in the trial, per the Salt Lake Tribune. That would seem to make them particularly poor choices for a company working on zero-emissions transport trucks.
Nikola says it does not endorse the list of nominees proposed by M&M Residual, and “strongly opposes” them. It says it will disclose its nominees after its proxy statement is filed with the SEC, and it says that no action is yet required of its shareholders.