NEWNAN, Ga. — The Georgia Republican Party said it has been in contact with the court-appointed receiver in charge of recovering money taken in an alleged Ponzi scheme and has returned more than $36,000 in contributions. The alleged scheme targeted conservative lawmakers and church groups.
In a statement from Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon on Tuesday, he said the party has gone through their records dating back to 2021 and handed and contributions made by Brant Frost IV and his immediate family members back to the receiver.
Federal investigators say First Liberty Building and Loan became a Ponzi scheme in 2021, and that its owner and founder, Frost, used millions of investor dollars on things like a luxury watch, rare coins, a vacation home rental in Maine and more than $500,000 in political contributions.
Federal investigators said the scheme took more than $140 million from investors.
Frost and his family promoted First Liberty heavily on conservative media with paid commercials and went to church groups to ask people to invest.
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“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 on Tuesday. “I want to emphasize that the Party’s action is rooted in compassion and integrity, aimed at supporting the victims and their families. It has not been made at the demand of any level of government or any candidate for office, but rather is the discharge of our moral duty to do our part to assist those who have been affected by this tragedy.”
Only Channel 2 Action News was there when the court-ordered receiver Gregory Hays and his team began removing boxes full of hard drives and financial records from the First Liberty offices in downtown Newnan last week.
Now, Hays has published a website for those First Liberty investors where they can track the progress of the case.
Hays has 90 days to finish his investigation and write up his report. He said he wants investors to know he’s working hard to find the money.
The charges currently brought against Frost and First Liberty are civil, not criminal. Sources confirmed to Channel 2’s Richard Elliot that the FBI is also looking into the case.
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