Alt5 Sigma’s Auditor Choice Raises Eyebrows: Hires Firm with Past Regulatory Penalties
Crypto infrastructure firm Alt5 Sigma just made a compliance play that's got the industry talking—and not all of it is praise.
The company, which provides trading and custody tech, tapped an external auditor to verify its financials and internal controls. Standard procedure for any firm wanting legitimacy. The twist? The chosen auditor carries baggage—a history of regulatory penalties for past shortcomings.
A Calculated Risk or a Red Flag?
In the wild west of crypto, hiring an auditor is supposed to be a signal of maturity. It tells regulators and institutional investors, "We play by the rules." But the choice of partner matters. Selecting one with a spotted record sends a mixed message. Is Alt5 Sigma confident in this firm's reformed practices, or is it opting for a potentially more lenient review?
For critics, it's a classic finance-world maneuver: check the compliance box, but do it as quietly and cheaply as possible. After all, why pay premium prices for a pristine reputation when a discounted, controversial one gets you the same official stamp?
The Trust Paradox in Digital Assets
The move highlights the central tension in crypto's growth. The sector desperately needs traditional validation to attract capital, yet often seems to resent the scrutiny that comes with it. Hiring an auditor with past sanctions might satisfy a technical requirement while subtly undermining the very trust it's meant to build.
It's a gamble. In a market still haunted by collapses like FTX, transparency isn't just a nice-to-have—it's the bedrock. Investors and partners will now be watching closely to see if this audit delivers genuine assurance or just becomes another line item in a filing, forgotten until something goes wrong. The cynical take? In finance, sometimes the appearance of oversight is just as valuable as the real thing—and considerably cheaper.
Alt5’s audit company licensing lapse follows regulatory penalties
On December 8, Alt5 Sigma appointed Victor Mokuolu CPA PLLC as its new auditor. State filings in Texas show the company’s license expired in August. Under Texas rules, an audit company without an active license cannot perform audit work. As of December 26, the firm’s license had not been renewed.
Victor Mokuolu, the founder of the company, renewed his personal certified public accountant license on August 31. His license remained inactive at the end of December based on state board records.
Alt5 Sigma addressed the situation in a statement to the Financial Times. The company said its auditor was “undergoing a peer review per Texas State Board of Accountancy regulations and will be completed by the end of January 2026, at which point the auditor expects the license to be active.” Alt5 added, “No reviews or audits of Alt5’s financial statements will be issued by our auditor until the firm’s licence is active.”
Victor previously worked as an accountant in the oil and gas sector before launching his company in 2020. A recent regulatory filing lists about 30 small‑cap public companies as audit clients of the company.
The company has been trying to fix deficiencies for more than two years after receiving a failing grade in the accounting profession’s peer review process in 2023. Regulators have already taken action against Alt5.
In 2023, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board fined the company $30,000 for failing to notify the regulator about six public company audits within the required 35‑day period. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy imposed an additional $15,000 penalty for the same violations after repeated late filings.
Management exits and filing delays deepen company turmoil
The auditor change came during a period of disruption inside Alt5 Sigma. The company now refers to itself as “a fintech with a pioneering $WLFI digital asset treasury strategy.” The August deal committed the company to buying and holding large amounts of World Liberty Financial’s $WLFI token, while the Trump‑backed venture became an investor in the company.
As of December 8, Alt5 Sigma held roughly 7.3 billion $WLFI tokens. The holdings were valued at about $1.1 billion at that time.
Leadership changes followed quickly. Jonathan Hugh, who joined as chief financial officer when the Trump deal was announced, left after three months. The company also parted ways with chief executive Peter Tassiopoulos in October. Board member David Danziger resigned last month, leaving the company in violation of Nasdaq rules that require an audit committee with a minimum size and accounting expertise.
The company is now at risk of being delisted from Nasdaq after failing to file quarterly results for the period ending in late September. Alt5 Sigma blamed the delay in part on the “timeliness and responsiveness” of its former auditor, which formally resigned in November.
Alt5 Sigma was incorporated in July 2024 by JanOne Inc, a biotech company that previously focused on developing treatments related to the opioid epidemic. JanOne merged with Alt5 Sigma and adopted its name in the same month. JanOne had already rebranded once before. In September 2019, it changed its name from Appliance Recycling Centers of America.
The company says it provides financial infrastructure that allows traditional financial institutions to connect with crypto markets. Since the August deal, the chair of Alt5 Sigma has been Zack Witkoff. Zack is a co‑founder of World Liberty Financial and the son of Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace negotiations.
In August, Alt5 Sigma disclosed to US regulators that its Canadian subsidiary and a former principal were found criminally liable by a Rwandan court in May for offences including illicit enrichment and money laundering. Alt5 Sigma Canada and Andre Beauchesne appealed the ruling to the High Court of Kigali in June. The case remains under judicial review. Both the company unit and Andre denied wrongdoing and said they were victims of fraud.
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