The Securities and Trade Fee has accused Edwin Brant Frost IV and his personal lending firm First Liberty Constructing & Mortgage with allegedly presiding over a classy $140 million Ponzi scheme, in line with a civil criticism filed on Thursday in federal courtroom in Atlanta.
Authorities declare Frost, 67, particularly focused Republican activists and conservative Christian traders by means of a community of right-wing media retailers. The Georgia monetary agency’s now-defunct web site calls out its ads “as heard on” conservative media together with Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt, and Charlie Kirk’s exhibits. First Liberty abruptly shut down late final month posting a be aware to shoppers on its web site stating that its investments, funds, and packages have been “indefinitely suspended.”
“First Liberty is cooperating with federal authorities as a part of an effort to perform an orderly wind-up of the enterprise,” the message states. “First Liberty staff aren’t approved to make any additional communications at the moment relating to the continued state of affairs, and nobody on the firm will likely be obtainable to reply telephone calls or reply to electronic mail inquiries.”
Makes an attempt to achieve Frost have been unsuccessful.
In line with the criticism, Frost and First Liberty raised a minimum of $140 million from the sale of mortgage participation agreements and promissory notes to a minimum of 300 traders. The alleged scheme started again in 2014 with Frost elevating capital by means of family and friends. They have been first provided mortgage participation agreements, that are contracts the place traders pool cash collectively to fund a single mortgage with every participant proudly owning a share. They have been later provided promissory notes—mainly IOUs— wherein traders have been lending cash to the corporate itself. Brant allegedly advised traders the funds could be used to make short-term bridge loans at excessive rates of interest.
Frost and First Liberty allegedly advised traders 100% of the proceeds from mortgage agreements and promissory notes could be used to fund bridge loans and that traders could be reap features from the compensation of the bridge loans and the curiosity paid on them. The family and friends program provided 14% to 18% returns, and the notes an annual return of 8% to 13%. The SEC claims Frost advised traders orally he didn’t take charges out of the investor funds.
The SEC’s criticism alleges almost all of those representations have been false. In 2021, First Liberty started working as a Ponzi scheme, the criticism states, with about 80% of the curiosity and funds to traders sourced from new investor funds—the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.
“The promise of a excessive price of return on an funding is a crimson flag that ought to make all potential traders assume twice or perhaps even thrice earlier than investing their cash,” stated Justin C. Jeffries, Affiliate Director of Enforcement for the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Workplace in a assertion. “Sadly, we’ve seen this film earlier than—unhealthy actors luring traders with guarantees of seemingly over-generous returns—and it doesn’t finish effectively.”
In 2024, the SEC claims Frost expanded the monetary agency’s attain by providing and promoting the promissory notes to the general public on the radio, the agency’s web site and on podcasts and different packages. The corporate marketed itself as a basic piece of what it known as the “patriot economic system.”
However, in line with the SEC, the alleged scheme had already unraveled. First Liberty allegedly operated at a deficit every year from 2021 by means of Might 30, 2025 and as a substitute functioned as a Ponzi operation. The regulator claims Frost even allegedly misled present traders in regards to the safety of their current investments to coax extra funding out of them.
Throughout the alleged scheme, the SEC accused Frost of dwelling lavishly off traders’ belongings.
Frost allegedly spent $230,000 to hire a trip residence in Kennebunkport, Maine and $140,000 on jewellery. He additionally allegedly snagged a $20,800 Patek Philippe watch with investor cash and doled out $335,000 to a uncommon coin supplier. He additionally allegedly paid $2.4 million on his bank cards with investor funds and made $570,000 in political donations.
The SEC alleged that 9 days after fee staffers interviewed Frost, he withdrew $100,000 from firm accounts containing investor funds and wrote $210,875 in checks from firm accounts to a enterprise that makes a speciality of promoting gold cash. The SEC has frozen Frost’s belongings.
Messages to Erickson, Hewitt, and Kirk weren’t instantly returned.
In a message on the web site, First Liberty wrote: “First Liberty hopes to supply further data and updates within the close to future relating to the standing of the corporate’s efforts to effectuate an orderly wind-up of the enterprise.”
