Investors have seen steep losses since putting their money on a fintech firm that partnered with a Trump family-backed crypto venture—but the president’s family got the better end of the deal, according to a new report.
ALT5 Sigma, now known as AI Financial Corp., teamed up with the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial last August in a deal that the president’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, celebrated with cheery photos at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York.
Under the deal, ALT5 acquired $1.5 billion in crypto tokens from World Liberty Financial. In turn, President Donald Trump and undisclosed members of his family were entitled to a staggering $500 million in proceeds from the sale, according to WLF disclosures first reported by CNBC.
But not everyone was as lucky.
Just a day before announcing its WLF partnership in August, ALT5 stock closed at $8.97. Since then, however, the company’s stock has fallen to 66 cents per share—a loss of more than 90 percent. Now, according to CNBC, AI Financial Corp faces delisting from Nasdaq in the next two weeks if it cannot raise its price. Nasdaq declined to comment to the publication.
Last April, Democracy Defenders Fund wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission demanding that it “commence an independent investigation” into ALT5 “without delay,” but it never received a response.
“The question now is: What happened to all that money?” Virginia Canter, the group’s chief anti-corruption counsel, told CNBC.
The Trump Organization, led by Don Jr. and Eric, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an emailed response to CNBC, Trump spokeswoman Kimberly Benza said, “Neither Eric nor Don have any involvement in ALT5, nor have any visibility to the company. Neither have ever been on the board, know anything about the leadership team, or have ever been involved in their operations.”
The report notes, “There is no evidence that anyone involved in ALT5 Sigma’s August stock sale, which ultimately benefited the Trump family, tried to exploit that relationship for their own benefit.”
Eric has forcefully distanced himself from ALT5.
“I have zero leadership or decision-making in the company,” he said in a rant on X last month after MS NOW’s Jen Psaki reported on his alleged ties to ALT5. “As I previously stated, I have NO knowledge whatsoever of the transaction she referenced, the people involved or a single detail—as I’m not, in any way, involved.”
The White House, meanwhile, has bucked criticism of the 79-year-old president.
“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public—which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”
AI Financial Corp., meanwhile, told CNBC, “We have no interest in participating in stories built on unfounded accusations and speculation. AiFi’s management team is laser-focused on building its business, serving its customers, and creating long-term value for shareholders.”
