First Liberty founder Brant Frost VI charged with wire fraud over alleged Ponzi scheme

The organizer of an alleged $140 million Ponzi scheme that touched the top ranks of Republican politics in Georgia and Alabama is now facing a federal charge of wire fraud.

Edwin Brant Frost IV, the 68-year-old founder and former president of the now-defunct First Liberty Building and Loan, was formally charged on Thursday.

Brant Frost IV, who led First Liberty, had decades of involvement in conservative politics. His company said it was a lender making high-interest short-term loans to businesses, paying investors between 8 and 18 percent from the repayment of the "Bridge Loans." Instead, prosecutors say Frost stole millions of dollars for himself, using the money to rent a vacation home in Maine, buy jewelry and watches, pay off over $2 million on credit card bills, and spend over $570,000 on political contributions.

Officials say Frost did not disclose to investors that multiple borrowers had defaulted on repaying the loans, and, in at least one case, continued to provide financing to a defaulted company.

Prosecutors estimated that Frost raised at least $140 million from at least 300 investors. Among those who lost money were a company run by former Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer, Alabama state Auditor Andrew Sorrell, and a political action committee controlled by the Republican Sorrell. Party activists have said many grassroots Republicans lost money, while others were lured by ads on shows hosted by conservatives, including Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt, and the late Charlie Kirk.

"I take full responsibility for my actions and am resolved to spend the rest of my life trying to repay as much as I can to the many people I misled and let down," Frost said in a statement last July as a federal judge ordered his assets frozen.

After being arraigned in federal court, Frost was released on bail.

Earlier this month, the Georgia Secretary of State's office announced that Bankers Life Advisory Services and Bankers Life Securities agreed to pay 46 alleged victims $6.7 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.