Christian Conservative Edwin Brant Frost IV Charged With Ponzi Scheme
The political supporter, who swindled investors out of $140M, apologized for his actions.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Edwin Brant Frost IV, the founder and owner of Georgia-based First Liberty Building and Loan.
Video screenshot via Fox 5 Atlanta
The SEC claims Frost engaged in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded approximately 300 investors of at least $140 million.
Frost is a well-known conservative Christian businessman who once ran the presidential campaign for Pat Robertson in Georgia.
The complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2025 Frost enticed investors by offering promissory notes and loan participation agreements with 18% returns and claiming that “very few of these loans had defaulted and that they would be repaid by borrowers via Small Business Administration or other commercial loans.”
According to the SEC, since at least 2021, First Liberty operated as a Ponzi scheme “by using new investor funds to make principal and interest payments to existing investors.”
Frost also allegedly misappropriated investor funds for his personal use, including making over $2.4 million in credit card payments, paying more than $335,000 to a rare coin dealer, and spending $230,000 on vacations.
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“The promise of a high rate of return on an investment is a red flag that should make all potential investors think twice or maybe even three times before investing their money,” Justin C. Jeffries, associate director of enforcement for the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, said in a press release. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen this movie before — bad actors luring investors with promises of seemingly over-generous returns — and it does not end well.”
Frost was still actively involved in politics, apparently making $570,000 in political donations.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urged candidates and political committees to return any campaign contributions they received from Frost’s First Liberty Building & Loan, the Frost family, or affiliated entities, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Frost’s son, Brant Frost V, serves as the 1st Vice President of the Georgia Republican Assembly. He allegedly told potential investors that their participation with First Liberty was a way to “grow the patriot economy,” Christianity Today reported.
Conservative commentators praised the Frosts. Erick Erickson said he knew them personally, called them “a good Christian family” and “wonderful people.” Hugh Hewitt compared the elder Frost to the main character of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” calling him “Georgia’s George Bailey,” CT said.
One investor who was caught in the alleged Ponzi scheme was John Vander Wiele. The Newnan Times-Herald identified him as the owner of a recycling company, who put the $25,000 proceeds from the sale of some property into the First Liberty investment opportunities. He trusted the investment because it was led by “authentic followers of Christ.”
“They told me they were Sunday school teachers and churchgoers,” Vander Wiele said to the Newnan Times-Herald. “It was like lending money to your neighbor. You feel good about it because you know where he lives.”
In addition to charging First Liberty and Frost with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, the SEC is seeking emergency relief, including freezing assets and appointing a receiver over the entities.
“Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, the defendants and relief defendants consented to the SEC’s requested emergency and permanent relief, with monetary remedies to be determined by the court at a later date,” the SEC press release states.
“I take full responsibility for my actions and am resolved to spend the rest of my life trying to repay as much as I can to the many people I misled and let down,” Frost said in a statement released by his lawyer to the New York Times. “I would like to apologize personally to those I have harmed, but I am under restrictions which prevent me from doing so.”
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