Officials say the GOP Ponzi scheme in Georgia cheated $140 million. Georgia

A prominent Georgia Federal officials alleged in a complaint filed Thursday that Republicans are using the Ponzi case plan to deceive 300 investors, at least $140 million.

The first free construction and loan controlled by Brandt Frost IV lied to investors to provide high interest loans to the company, a civil lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Instead, investigators explainit raises more money to repay early investors.

Frost allegedly made more than $19 million in investor funds for himself, his family and affiliates, spent $160,000 on jewelry even if the business went bankrupt, and $335,000 with rare coin dealers. Frost is also said to have spent $320,000 on a vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the family of late President George HW Bush spent the summer.

Frost continued to write checks even after the commission began its investigation.

The first freedom explain In June, it will cease loans and pay interest and principal to investors on those loans. The company said it did not answer calls or emails.

First Liberty has not responded to an email seeking comments and was in her office in Newnan, a southwestern Atlanta suburb, no one was present Thursday night. The attorney who is a registered agent for the company’s purpose earlier said he had no information.

The collapse shocked the religious and political networks that businesses attract investors. It could also have political consequences in the state Republican Party, eliminating funds from far-right candidates that Frost and his family agreed. Investigators said Frost spent $570,000 on investor funds to make political donations.

The SEC said the business had only $2.67 million in cash as of May 30, although regulators also tried to get money back from Frost and affiliates. There were 300 investors receiving $140 million, meaning that an average investor invested nearly $500,000.

First Liberty said it offered loans to companies that needed cash, waiting for more traditional loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA). It charges high interest rates — 18% on some loans, according to the Associated Press documents. First Liberty promises investors’ returns equally high – a 18% return on loans is 16%.

In recent months, the company has advertised “Wall Street Returns for Street Investors” on conservative radio stations with promising.

“The promise of a high ROI is a red flag that should make all potential investors think twice before investing in funds,” Justin C Jeffries, deputy director of law enforcement at the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, said in a statement.

The company said it is “working with federal authorities as part of an effort to complete the business orderly.” The SEC said Frost and his company agreed to the SEC’s enforcement action, “the court will later determine monetary remedies.”

The SEC said it has provided loans to companies, but as many as 90% of them defaulted on loans. The complaint says that by 2021, the company has been running as a Ponzi scheme, even as Frost withdraws more and more money.

The business is under investigation Georgia The secretary of state may violate securities laws, said the office spokesman Robert Sinners.

The 2023 document obtained by the AP is titled “Promissory Notes,” and sinners say anyone who issues promissory notes should register with Georgia securities officials.

The sinner encourages any victim to contact the State Securities Division.

Federal prosecutors declined to comment on whether they are considering criminal charges. Sometimes, SEC civil and federal criminal cases are about investment fraud.

Frost has been a major player in Georgia politics since 1988, when he coordinated the Republican presidential election for the state’s television passerman Pat Robertson. His son, Brant Frost V, is the Republican chairman of the Coweta County where the company is located, and is the second vice president of the state Republican Party. Daughter Katie Frost is the Republican chairman of the Third Congress District, which includes other areas in the Southwest Atlanta.

At the state Republican convention in June, Katie chaired a nomination committee that recommended that representatives be reelected as state chairman Josh McKoon. Delegates followed this suggestion and rejected many candidates for rebellion.