Ants Chairman Quits

Donald Hutton, chairman of Ants Software.com, resigned after the company asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw a securities registration that prompted the software company’s outside auditor to resign. The auditor, Jaak Olesk, quit Monday after learning that Hutton incorrectly identified himself as a certified public accountant in a filing that sought permission to issue shares. On Wednesday, the company issued a news release saying Hutton is not a CPA. Fred Pettit, Ants’ chief executive, replaced Hutton as chairman. Pettit declined to comment. Hutton signed the “Consent of Certified Public Accountant” in the registration, giving permission for the company to include Olesk’s audit. That was wrong, experts said, because Hutton did not do the audit, is not independent of the company and is not a CPA. Ants needed to file with the SEC to register 80,000 shares of stock set aside for former CEO John Wilczak as part of a severance agreement. Ants’ shares fell $1 to close at $18.88 in Nasdaq trading.