GOP donor facing Ponzi scheme allegations in SEC complaint — and 'far-right candidates' may lose

11 July

In Georgia, a swing state that has two Democratic U.S. senators and a conservative GOP governor, Brant Frost IV is a well-known figure in Republican circles as well as the business world. Now, according to the Associated Press (AP), Frost is facing federal allegations that he "defrauded 300 investors of at least" $140 million via a "Ponzi scheme."

AP, on Friday afternoon, July 11, reported that in a civil complaint filed the previous day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that First Liberty Building and Loan — which Frost controls — deceived investors about its high-interest loans to businesses.

"Instead, investigators said, it raised more money to repay earlier investors," AP reports. "Frost is alleged to have taken more than $19m of investor funds for himself, his family and affiliated companies even as the business was going broke, spending $160,000 on jewelry and $335,000 with a rare coin dealer. Frost is also said to have spent $320,000 to rent a vacation home over multiple years in Kennebunkport, Maine, the town where the family of late President George H.W. Bush spent summers.

The SEC, according to AP, "said Frost kept writing checks even after the commission began its investigation."

"First Liberty said in June that it would stop making loans and paying interest and principal to investors in those loans," AP explains. "The company said it was not answering phone calls or e-mails. First Liberty has not responded to an e-mail seeking comment, and no one was present at its office on Thursday evening in Newnan, a suburb south-west of Atlanta."

AP adds, "A lawyer who acts as the company’s registered agent for corporate purposes said earlier that he had no information. "

According to AP, Frost's problems "could have ramifications in state Republican politics, cutting off funding to the far-right candidates that Frost and his family have favored."

Read the full Associated Press article at this link.

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