Sept 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said Trevor Milton, the

Nikola ( NKLA ) founder who was sentenced to four years in

prison after being convicted of fraud, must pay the electric

truck maker $167.7 million for making false and misleading

statements about the company to the public.

In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa

in Phoenix upheld a divided arbitration panel's November 2023

award in Nikola's ( NKLA ) favor.

Humetewa said the panel acted within its authority in

interpreting a separation agreement that Milton entered when he

resigned as Nikola ( NKLA ) chief executive in September 2020.

The panel found Milton liable to pay $121.25 million, or

97%, of Nikola's ( NKLA ) $125 million fine from settling a U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud case, and to

cover nearly $46.5 million in legal fees and expenses.

Milton, 42, argued that the award was excessive and amounted

to "rough justice" because the panel ignored the "relative

fault" of other Nikola ( NKLA ) executives, directors and employees.

But the judge said the panel's analysis was plausible,

including its assigning 3% fault to the Phoenix-based company

for failing to stop Milton from misleading investors.

Lawyers for Milton did not immediately respond to requests

for comment on Tuesday. Nikola's ( NKLA ) lawyers had no immediate

comment.

Jurors in Manhattan convicted Milton in October 2022 on two

counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud, after

prosecutors said he lied to investors about Nikola's ( NKLA ) technology.

Prosecutors said Milton's improper statements included that

Nikola ( NKLA ) built a pickup from the "ground up," developed batteries

he knew it was buying elsewhere, and had made progress in

creating a "Nikola One" semi-truck he knew did not work.

Milton is free on bail while he appeals his conviction and

December 2023 sentence.

The case is Nikola Corp ( NKLA ) v Milton, U.S. District Court,

District of Arizona, No. 23-02635.