First Liberty Building & Loan in Newnan on July 11, 2025 after the SEC filed its complaint. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

You expect to see politicians working hard to earn donations, but some Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to give them back.

A growing list of politicians and groups who received money from the conservative lending firm First Liberty Building & Loan and its founder, Brant Frost IV, are sending donations back after Frost was implicated in a purported $140 million Ponzi scheme that feds say started around 2021 and scammed 300 investors.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint says Frost donated more than $570,000 of those investor funds to right-wing candidates and groups across multiple states, though the full number could end up being higher, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

First Liberty targeted right-wing and Christian groups, and its now-defunct website touted efforts to fund food pantries, a crisis intervention program for middle school boys and other good works.

“At First Liberty Building & Loan, we believe that charitable giving is a fundamental part of our responsibility as authentic followers of Christ,” Frost said on First Liberty’s website. “By choosing us for your financial needs, you can rest assured that we prioritize giving back to our community. We support charities and organizations that align with our values, and we are committed to making a positive impact in the lives of those less fortunate among us.”

Instead, the SEC complaint alleges that Frost transferred more than $5 million of investor funds to himself and his family. The complaint alleges Frost took in investor money for short-term loans for worthy small businesses, but instead spent it on luxury items including a Maine vacation home, jewelry and a $20,000 watch.

“We call these affinity frauds, where you base it on a certain group, and this is very religious Christians and Republicans,” said Gregory Hays of Atlanta-based Hays Financial Consulting, who was appointed by a U.S. district court judge to receive the money from those returning the funds. “So most of all the victims are either in politics or very faith-based investors, and all of them that I talked to were influenced by the charitable giving and the feel-good side of the company.”

Frost allegedly painted a rosy picture of the loans’ performance to investors, but in reality the majority of the loans that were made went into default, and Frost was using money from new investors to make interest payments to previous investors.

Now, the investors are left holding the bag.

“It’s just devastating to them,” Hays said. “There’s a lot of retirement money. I talked to one gentleman this morning that put $300,000 in, and he said it was all his retirement money, the $300,000. So it’s having some devastating impact on a lot of people.”

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose office is investigating First Liberty alongside the SEC, issued an earlier statement calling on recipients to return political contributions from the company or from members of the Frost family. Raffensperger told media outlets he personally returned about $8,400 after learning of the allegations.

As of Wednesday, Hays said recipients had returned about $60,000. By Monday afternoon, that number had increased to $130,000. The response has been intense enough for Hays to set up an automated response to emails warning that he may be slow to write back due to the heavy work load as he fields calls and emails from the investors and hundreds of politicians.

“There was a big hurry right after the secretary of state asked for all Georgia Republicans to return the money, and so we had calls from a lot of different politicians wanting to return the money, and that was before we even found a report of some of the donations,” he said. “We haven’t sent out demands to recover money yet from the politicians, it’s just people are searching their own records and returning money.”

Still, Hays said the process will take a long time to play out.

Frost issued a statement through his attorneys earlier this month taking “full responsibility” and asking that “everyone allow the receiver time to sort things out and do his best to repair the damage I created.”

Payback time

State and federal donation records for First Liberty, Frost and his immediate family members show donations to conservative candidates dating back to the early 2000s, with one in 1995, but stepping up around 2021, when the illegal activity is alleged to have begun.

Some of the recipients are well-known conservative firebrands on the national stage, like Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who each received $2,900 from First Liberty in the 2024 election cycle, according to campaign records.

One of the top beneficiaries of the First Liberty money was Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, who is running for Alabama Secretary of State. Frost gave Sorrell $71,000, and Sorrell’s PAC made a loan to First Liberty, according to reporting from the Alabama Reflector.

Members of the Frost family and First Liberty have donated more than $50,000 to the state Republican Party in Georgia since 2001 through numerous donations, some as small as $10. Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon said last week that the party had searched its records and returned $36,843.97, the amount they determined came in since the start of 2021.

“On behalf of our Party, I am profoundly saddened that members of our conservative movement, along with many others, were misled by false promises of safe investments. This has left countless Georgians facing uncertain futures and financial distress,” McKoon said.

Records show three donations from members of the Frost family to Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, before the scheme was alleged to have begun, totaling $7,500. Kemp’s campaign said the governor sent $13,800 in donations to Hays’ office.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running for governor next year, received $1,000 from a Frost family member and is sending it to Hays, a campaign spokesperson said.

Several of Georgia’s sitting Republican members of Congress received donations, including Congressmen Brian Jack, Andrew Clyde and Rich McCormick, each of whom records show received thousands of dollars from First Liberty and the Frost family since 2021.

Congressman Barry Loudermilk’s most recent donation of $3,600 came in 2014, records show. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Congressman Rick Allen received only $80 and $50 respectively from First Liberty in 2024.

A spokesperson for Jack’s office said in a statement he immediately returned two donations and emphasized that they made up a small portion of his support.

“Since announcing his campaign for Congress in March 2024, Congressman Jack has received 28,473 donations,” said spokeswoman Alex Stone. “Just 2 of those donations were from individuals who either identified First Liberty as their employer or are named in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint charging First Liberty.”

Jack won his seat last year, replacing retired GOP Congressman Drew Ferguson in the west Georgia district, which includes Newnan where Frost resides.

First Liberty spent big in that race, also supporting at least two of the men who faced Jack in the GOP primary for that seat, records show, including more than $10,000 to former state Sen. Mike Crane and $7,500 in payments to businessman Jim Bennett.

McCormick’s office also confirmed he plans to return donations, which include $11,600 from First Liberty in 2024, according to FEC records.

Georgia Public Service Commission member Tim Echols, who is up for reelection this year, said he has returned two $1,000 donations to the receiver.

The Frosts also spent on lesser-known candidates, in some cases funding challenges to established incumbents.

State Rep. Jordan Ridley, a Woodstock Republican who is returning $3,000 he received in 2022, said the Frosts were fixtures at state Republican events.

“They were definitely big in fundraising for your more right leaning-candidates,” he said. “They were always a staple at the state party events, with tables and things like that. Definitely very active, very involved and very supportive financially.”

Ridley said he was referred to the Frost family by another member of the General Assembly as a potential fundraising source.

Campaign finance records show that other state lawmakers  who received First Liberty money include Woodstock Rep. Charlice Byrd, Buford Rep. David Clark, Locust Grove Rep. Noelle Kahaian, Columbus Rep. Carmen Rice, Trenton Sen. Colton Moore and Johns Creek Sen. Shawn Still.

Ridley said he’s talked with colleagues in the Legislature who received the donations and most will be ready to give back their donations without much persuasion.

“For anybody to run a Ponzi scheme or take somebody else’s money like that is just completely unacceptable, and I feel for the victims and I hope they get back as much as possible,” Ridley said.

Ridley said Frost may have been a prolific donator, but losing his money won’t hurt Republicans in 2026 or beyond.

“I don’t think they were that big of a donor statewide for that many people that it’s going to have that big of an impact,” he said. “For some candidates, sure, it may be a lot, but for me, I received a donation one time three years ago. For me, it’s not going to be an issue, and for a lot of my colleagues I know who have received money. They weren’t the only donor or a massive donor, they were just a piece of the pie.”

Georgia Recorder reporter Maya Homan and intern Amber Roldan contributed to this story.

The post Georgia Republicans rush to return First Liberty donations but majority of funds are still missing appeared first on georgiarecorder.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article critically examines a financial scandal involving a conservative lending firm and its connections to right-wing political candidates and groups. It highlights alleged illegal activities, misuse of funds, and the impact on conservative donors and politicians, including prominent Republican figures. The framing focuses on the wrongdoing and fallout within conservative circles, without overt praise or condemnation beyond reporting facts and official statements. The tone and selection of details reflect a perspective skeptical of conservative political actors implicated in the scandal, which aligns moderately with center-left reporting tendencies that scrutinize conservative politics while maintaining a journalistic approach.