President Donald Trump and members of his family reaped about $500 million from the sale of $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency to a company that's since seen its stock price plummet — and left investors holding the bag, according to a report Monday.
Less than a year after Trump sons Don Jr. and Eric rang the Nasdaq opening bell to celebrate the crypto deal with Alt5 Sigma, the company — since renamed AI Financial Corp. — faces removal from the exchange if its shares don't rise above penny-stock levels in the next 15 trading days, and it's warned investors it may go out of business, CNBC said.
Shares in the company were trading at 68 cents each on Tuesday, down 93 percent from a year earlier and just above its 52-week low of 63 cents.
The situation led the anti-Trump Democracy Defenders Fund to call in April for a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with chief anti-corruption counsel Virginia Canter telling CNBC, "The question is now: What happened to all that money?"
Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who reviewed the matter with Democracy Defenders, said he saw "all the indicators that normally raise significant concerns among regulators."
"This are serious red flags with this company that warrant investigation," Platkin told CNBC.
The SEC declined to comment but a White House spokesperson told The Independent that “President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children" and that were "no conflicts of interest."
A Trump Organization spokesperson also 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.”
AI Financial didn’t immediately return an inquiry from The Independent but a company spokesperson told CNBC that its "management team is laser-focused on building its business, serving its customers, and creating long-term value for shareholders,” and dismissed what he called "unfounded accusations and speculation.”
The deal involving Alt5 Sigma and the Trumps included trading company shares and stock warrants for $750 million worth of crypto tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, which is partially owned by Trump family members, including the president, according to CNBC.
Its founders include the billionaire president's sons, Don Jr., Eric and Barron, as well as Zach and Alex Witkoff, sons of billionaire real estate developer and Trump senior adviser and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
In addition to the trade with World Liberty, Alt5 reportedly sold $750 million worth of its stock to investors at $7.50 a share, with virtually all the proceeds going to World Liberty for more WLFI tokens, pushing the total value held by Alt 5 to about $1.5 billion.
The Trump family is entitled to 75 percent of the proceeds from the sale of World Liberty tokens, meaning that the Alt5 deal likely resulted in about $500 million in direct gains after fees and other expenses, according to CNBC.
But since their debut in September 2025, WLFI tokens have lost more than 80 percent of their value, which has pushed down the price of Alt5 shares, CNBC said.
It's unclear whether some savvy investors may have sold their Alt5 stock before suffering steep losses.
There's also no evidence anyone involved in Alt5's August stock stale tried to exploit their relationship with the Trump family, CNBC said, but it called the company's troubles a "cautionary tale for for investors who saw a Trump-linked deal as a natural winner in a Trump presidency."
