Investors lost more than $76 million through a Georgia fraud tied to First Liberty Building and Loan, and Edwin Brant Frost IV received a 15-year federal sentence, The Independent reported.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May imposed the sentence on Frost, 69, for wire fraud, the outlet said. The court also ordered him to repay more than $76 million in restitution. Frost pleaded guilty in May, according to the same account.
Prosecutors said the fraud affected more than 300 investors and caused losses exceeding $76 million, The Independent reported. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said retirees and seniors were among those harmed, and some lost their life savings.
First Liberty was headquartered in Newnan, an Atlanta suburb, and collapsed in June 2025, according to the report. The outlet said the investment offer was tied to high-interest corporate loans and held out potential returns of up to 16%.
Frost promoted the offer as “Wall Street returns for Main Street investors,” The Independent reported. It also said First Liberty investments were promoted through conservative media broadcasts hosted by Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt and Charlie Kirk.
An SEC lawsuit, as described by The Independent, alleged that Frost redirected $17 million to personal uses, relatives and businesses linked to him. The suit also described millions in loans that had gone into default. Authorities said $570,000 in client money was diverted to political donations, the report said.
The outlet described Frost as an evangelical figure with influence in Georgia Republican circles. It said he and relatives supported far-right candidates, and that First Liberty’s collapse could affect their funding. The Independent’s account linked the firm’s capital to political and religious networks around Frost.
Frost apologized at sentencing, The Independent reported, citing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). He told the court, “I have messed up a lot of good people’s lives,” and said hearing statements from victims was difficult, the AJC reported. The AJC also reported that May tied the sentence’s length to the scale of the harm.
