First Liberty Building and Loan founder sentenced to 15 years over $76 million Ponzi scheme

What happened

Alabama Political Reporter reported on 2 November 2026 that Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced Edwin Brant Frost IV, 69, of Newnan, Georgia, the founder of First Liberty Building and Loan, to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay $76,454,374.39 in restitution after pleading guilty to wire fraud on 12 May. According to the report, the sentence was imposed on 26 October. Frost was originally due to be sentenced on 14 August, and his lawyers asked to move the hearing to 26 October without opposition from the government.

How the scam works

Prosecutors said Frost pitched First Liberty to investors as a politically conservative, Christian lender. Between 2021 and July 2025, the company did not make enough revenue as loans defaulted, and Frost paid older investors with money from new clients, which is how a Ponzi scheme works. Investigators said he spent $570,000 in investor funds on political contributions. Prosecutors also said he diverted at least $5 million for personal use, including a $230,000 vacation home rental, $140,000 in jewelry and $2 million in credit card payments.

At sentencing, the judge rejected the defence argument that Frost meant no harm, saying that “this level of delusion is not believable”, as reported by the Georgia Recorder. The sentence was a year more than prosecutors requested and a decade more than defence attorneys sought, and federal sentencing guidelines recommended about 20 years. His attorney pointed to his age and argued that a longer sentence would amount to a death sentence. The U.S. Attorney, Theodore S. Hertzberg, said Frost “wickedly exploited their faith to plunder their accounts and enrich himself.”

Frost has 30 days to surrender, and his counsel asked whether he could serve his time at a federal prison in Montgomery. The case is an example of affinity fraud, in which a promoter uses shared faith or politics to win trust, and of how Ponzi-style schemes depend on a steady supply of new investors. Investors considering any lender that promises safety should check how it is registered and regulated.

Source

Alabama Political Reporter, “First Liberty founder Brant Frost gets 15 years in prison”, 2 November 2026 (citing court proceedings, the Georgia Recorder and prosecutors).