18% Returns on 'Bridge Loans': Georgia's First Liberty and Owner Brant Frost IV Settle SEC Ponzi Case Without Admitting or Denying

Published Oct. 12, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date, based on SEC records.

Investors in Newnan, Georgia-based First Liberty Building & Loan were offered returns of up to 18% from short-term business loans that, they were told, rarely defaulted. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, most of those loans eventually did default, and the company kept paying investors with newer investors' money.

On July 10, 2025, the SEC filed charges seeking an asset freeze and other emergency relief against First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC and its founder and owner, Edwin Brant Frost IV, in connection with what it calls a Ponzi scheme that defrauded about 300 investors of at least $140 million [1].

What the SEC alleges

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia [1][2]:

• The products. From about 2014 through June 2025, First Liberty and Frost sold retail investors promissory notes and loan participation agreements offering returns of up to 18%, saying the money would fund short-term bridge loans to businesses at relatively high rates.
• The assurances. Investors were allegedly told very few loans had defaulted and that borrowers would repay through Small Business Administration or other commercial loans.
• The alleged reality. Some money did go to bridge loans, but the SEC says those loans didn't perform as represented and most eventually defaulted. Since at least 2021, the SEC alleges, First Liberty operated as a Ponzi scheme.
• Personal spending. The complaint alleges Frost used investor money for more than $2.4 million in credit card payments, more than $335,000 paid to a rare coin dealer and $230,000 on family vacations.

"The promise of a high rate of return on an investment is a red flag that should make all potential investors think twice or maybe even three times before investing their money," said Justin C. Jeffries, associate director of enforcement in the SEC's Atlanta office [1].

The settlement

Without admitting or denying the allegations, First Liberty, Frost and five relief defendants Frost controlled consented to the SEC's requested emergency and permanent relief, including an asset freeze, appointment of a receiver over the entities, an accounting and expedited discovery, with money remedies to be decided by the court later [1][3]. Relief defendants are not accused of wrongdoing.

The SEC's press release does not mention criminal charges. As of Oct. 12, 2026, we found no later SEC release on sec.gov setting monetary remedies.

What an SEC civil case is (and isn't)

The SEC is a civil regulator. When it "charges" someone, it files a lawsuit in federal court or brings an administrative proceeding asking for remedies such as injunctions, repayment of allegedly ill-gotten gains (disgorgement), civil money penalties and industry bars. It cannot send anyone to prison. Criminal charges, when there are any, are brought separately by federal prosecutors, and a defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Allegations in an SEC complaint are claims the agency must prove in court unless a defendant settles. When a defendant settles "without admitting or denying" the allegations, the court or the Commission enters an order, but the defendant has not conceded that the allegations are true. Throughout this article, statements about what happened are allegations or findings as described by the SEC, not established facts, unless we say a court entered a judgment or a defendant pleaded guilty.

Red flags in this case

• Fixed returns as high as 18% marketed as low-risk.
• Assurances that loans 'almost never default.'
• An investment run by a single owner who controls the money and the records.

How to check an investment before you hand over money

• Look up the person and the firm on Investor.gov and FINRA BrokerCheck. A clean search is not proof of legitimacy, but a missing or mismatched record is a reason to stop.
• Read the offering documents yourself, and ask a fee-only professional you found independently to read them too.
• Be skeptical of "guaranteed" or fixed high returns. Real investments carry risk, and promises of safety plus high yield are a classic warning sign.
• Be wary of pressure. Deadlines, "limited allocations" and repeated calls are sales tactics, not investment analysis.
• Don't let trust in a group replace due diligence. Fraud often spreads through churches, ethnic and professional communities, online chat groups and friends-of-friends referrals.

If you think you were affected

1. Keep everything: account statements, emails, texts, wire and payment records, and any marketing material.
2. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr. If a criminal case is involved, you can also contact the FBI at ic3.gov or the prosecutors' victim-witness office.
3. Watch for a receiver or fair fund. In some SEC cases, money is later returned to harmed investors through a court-appointed receiver or a distribution fund. Notices are posted on sec.gov.
4. Beware of "recovery" offers. People who lost money are often targeted again by scammers promising to recover it for an upfront fee. Legitimate receivers and the SEC do not charge you to file a claim.

Case status (as of Oct. 12, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 12, 2026	Source
Edwin Brant Frost IV, owner of First Liberty	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga. (SEC civil, No. 1:25-cv-03826)	Sued July 10, 2025; consented without admitting or denying to emergency and permanent relief, including asset freeze and receiver; money remedies to be set later	[1], [3]
First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.	Same consent, including to appointment of a receiver over the entities; money remedies to be set later	[1], [3]

Statuses can change. SEC allegations are claims, not findings of wrongdoing, unless a court has ruled.

Sources

1. SEC Press Release 2025-98, "SEC Charges Georgia-based First Liberty Building & Loan and its Owner for Operating a $140 Million Ponzi Scheme," July 10, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-98-sec-charges-georgia-based-first-liberty-building-loan-its-owner-operating-140-million-ponzi-scheme
2. SEC complaint, SEC v. Frost and First Liberty (N.D. Ga.). https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2025/comp-pr-2025-98.pdf
3. SEC Litigation Release No. 26358, July 22, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26358

---

Corrections and updates: If you are named in this article, or represent someone who is, and believe anything here is inaccurate or out of date (including a dismissal, judgment, settlement or change in case status), please contact us at editorandchief@scammers.com. We will review it and update the article promptly.