US EditionGeorgia Republican pleads not guilty to wire fraud charge in Ponzi scheme
Prosecutors say Frost used new investor money to pay earlier investors and spent more than $5 million on personal and political expenses.
- On Thursday, Georgia Republican Edwin Brant Frost pleaded not guilty to a federal wire fraud charge related to a $156 million Ponzi scheme. Frost waived indictment, a procedural step typically preceding a guilty plea.
- Prosecutors allege Frost operated First Liberty as a Ponzi scheme, promising investors up to 18% annual interest while using new investor funds to pay earlier investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the company last year.
- Frost allegedly skimmed more than $5 million for personal use, including over $2 million in credit card bills and more than $230,000 renting a vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Investors lost at least $65 million total.
- U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg told The Associated Press that Frost is "not going to contest the charges" and likely to enter a guilty plea in early May. Hertzberg stated "the loss here is very significant," affecting prominent Republicans and grassroots activists.
- The wire fraud charge carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence, while a court-appointed receiver holds $5.16 million in cash and is attempting to recoup assets from nearly 30 unpaid loans. Hertzberg intends to recommend a sentence near the top of the range.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Gwinnett Daily Post
capitol-beat.orgHead of Georgia investment fund accused of wire fraud
ATLANTA — Federal prosecutors charged the founder of a Georgia investment vehicle with wire fraud Thursday in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme. Edwin Brant Frost IV, owner and president of the defunct First Liberty Building and Loan, allegedly scammed…
First Liberty Founder Charged in $155M Ponzi Scheme
The former president of a Newnan-based lending firm accused of raising more than $155 million from investors was arraigned Thursday on a federal wire fraud charge tied to what prosecutors describe as a multi-year Ponzi scheme. Edwin Brant Frost IV, 68, of Newnan, pleaded not guilty during a brief hearing before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. He was released on a $10,000 supervisory bond with travel restrictions and ordered not to c…
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