Auditor Shuffle and Regulatory Woes: Alt5 Sigma Battles Nasdaq Delisting After Three-Auditor Shuffle in Six Weeks

The Delisting Crisis: When Auditors Can’t Keep Up

Alt5 Sigma is staring down a potential Nasdaq delisting after failing to submit its quarterly financial report for the period ending September. This isn’t just a procedural hiccup—it’s a symptom of deeper governance problems that have spiraled since the company’s landmark August deal with World Liberty Financial. The delays have forced the company into a precarious position with the exchange, leaving investors questioning the firm’s operational stability and financial transparency.

A Revolving Door for Auditors in Just Six Weeks

The auditing chaos tells the real story. Since early December, Alt5 Sigma has cycled through three different auditing firms—a stunning display of instability that raises red flags for any investor. The latest casualty was Victor Mokuolu CPA PLLC, which the company terminated on Christmas Day after discovering the firm’s Texas license had expired in August. This wasn’t a minor administrative oversight; the firm had been operating without proper credentials, which is a serious violation of public company audit standards.

What makes this worse is Victor Mokuolu CPA PLLC’s regulatory history. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) hammered the firm with a $30,000 fine in 2023 for failing to notify regulators about completed audits of six public companies within the required 35-day window. Texas regulators piled on another $15,000 fine last year for the same type of violation. The accounting industry’s peer review gave the firm a failing grade in 2023, and it’s been struggling to fix deficiencies for over two years. Despite Victor Mokuolu personally renewing his individual CPA license on August 31, the firm’s corporate license remained unrenewed as of late December—a critical gap that made it ineligible to conduct any audit work.

Alt5 Sigma has now appointed LJ Soldinger Associates as its third auditor in six weeks, a desperate shuffle that undermines confidence in the company’s financial controls.

The Human Cost: Executive Exodus

Behind the audit drama, Alt5 Sigma’s leadership team has been hemorrhaging talent. Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Hugh, who joined specifically to handle the World Liberty Financial deal, departed after just three months. Chief Executive Officer Peter Tassiopoulos left in October. Board member David Danziger resigned last month, leaving the company so understaffed that it violated audit committee size and expertise requirements. When your finance team is bailing, that’s never a good sign for stakeholders.

The Trump Connection and the WLFI Bet

Alt5 Sigma’s troubles are inextricably tied to its August deal with World Liberty Financial. The company committed to purchasing and holding a massive amount of WLFI tokens—as of December 8, approximately 7.3 billion tokens valued at roughly $1.1 billion. This wasn’t just a financial investment; it represented a complete pivot for the company, which now describes itself as “a fintech company with a pioneering WLFI digital asset portfolio strategy.”

Zack Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial and son of Trump peace negotiator Steve Witkoff, became Alt5 Sigma’s chairman post-deal. Eric Trump initially joined the board as an observer. While the Trump family’s involvement generated initial optimism, it has done little to stabilize the company’s operations or governance.

Prior Legal Issues: André Beauchesne and Rwanda Complications

Adding another layer of risk, Alt5 Sigma disclosed in August that its Canadian subsidiary and André Beauchesne, the group’s former head, were found guilty by a Rwandan court in May of charges including illegal enrichment and money laundering. Both the subsidiary (Alt5 Sigma Canada) and Beauchesne have appealed to the Kigali High Court, with the case still pending judicial review. Both parties deny the allegations and claim they are victims of fraud. However, the fact that such serious charges exist—even if disputed—compounds investor concerns about governance and compliance practices.

A Company in Transition: From JanOne to Alt5 Sigma

The instability didn’t start with the WLFI deal. Alt5 Sigma itself is a relatively new entity, formed in July 2024 through a merger with JanOne, a biotechnology company. JanOne had previously focused on opioid epidemic solutions before the pivot. The company had cycled through names before—it was originally known as Appliance Recycling Centers of America until September 2019. This history of pivots and rebranding, combined with the recent WLFI transformation, suggests a company still searching for its identity.

What’s Next: Governance Under Fire

Alt5 Sigma faces a critical window to stabilize. It must submit delayed financial reports, maintain its Nasdaq listing, and resolve the audit function gap. The company blamed some of the reporting delay on its former auditor’s lack of “timeliness and responsiveness,” but that explanation rings hollow when you’re on your third auditor in six weeks. At this point, the market is watching whether Alt5 Sigma can get its house in order before the SEC or Nasdaq takes stronger action.

The company’s stated mission—to provide financial infrastructure enabling traditional institutions to integrate with digital assets—is solid in theory. But execution, governance, and operational stability are where it’s falling short. Until those improve, expect more volatility and investor skepticism.