The Securities and Exchange Commission has Defendants Edwin Brandt Frost IV and his private loan company First building and loan for freedom With alleged president of a sophisticated Ponzi scheme of $ 140 million, according to A. Civil appeal Filed on Thursday at the Federal Court in Atlanta.
Authorities claim Frost, 67, specifically directed Republican activists and conservative Christian investors through a network of right -wing media. The now non-existent financial company’s website at Georgiadarist is calling on its ads “as heard” Conservative media including Eric Eriksson, Hugh Hewitt and Charlie Kirk’s shows. The first freedom closed sharply late last month, announcing a note to clients on its web site stating that its investments, payments and programs were “indefinitely suspended”.
“The first freedom is to cooperate with the federal authorities as part of an attempt to achieve a neat business wind,” the message said. “The first freedom employees are not authorized to execute additional communications at this time regarding the current situation and no one in the company will be available to respond to phone calls or respond to investigations on E -Sost.”
Attempts to reach frost were unsuccessful.
According to the appeal, Frost and the first freedom raised at least $ 140 million from the sale of loan and bills of exchange of at least 300 investors. The alleged scheme began in 2014 with Frost -raising capital through friends and family. They were first offered a loan contract, which agreed where investors raise money together to finance a single loan with each participant to own a percentage. They were later offered bills of exchange – basically, in which investors borrowed money to the company itself. Brandt reportedly told investors that the funds would be used to make short -term bridge loans at high interest rates.
Frost and First Freedom reportedly told investors 100% of loan and bills of loan revenue will be used to finance loans for bridge and that investors will be obtained from repaying loans on the bridge and interest paid to them. The “Friends and Family” program offered a refund from 14% to 18%, and notes an annual refund from 8% to 13%. The SEC claims that Frost told investors orally that he did not remove a taxi from the investor’s funds.
The SEC’s Complaint Alt claims that almost all of these national teams were false. In 2021
“The promise of a high return rate of investment is a red flag that should make all potential investors think twice or perhaps even three times before investing their money,” said JustinAstein F. EFFEFRI, Extraordinary Director for the Atlanta Regional Office in Atlanta in A. statement. “Unfortunately, we saw this film before it-the actors of the cons attracted investors with promises of seemingly too general returns-and it doesn’t end well.”
In 2024, the SEC claims that Frost has expanded the reach of the financial firm by offering and selling public bills of exchange on the radio, the company’s website and podcasts and other programs. The company was sold as a fundamental piece of what it called “patriotic economy”.
But according to the SEC, the alleged scheme has already been revealed. The first freedom reportedly worked with a deficit every year from 2021 to 30.05.2025 and instead functioned as Ponzi’s operation. The regulator claims that Frost even allegedly misleaded current investors for the security of their existing investments to cause more funding than them.
During the alleged scheme, the SEC accused Frost of lived lavishly outside the investor’s funds.
Frost reportedly spent $ 230,000 on renting a holiday in Kenbunkport, Maine and $ 140,000 on jewelry. He also allegedly used a $ 20,800 watch by Philip with the investor’s money and missed $ 335,000 on a rare coin dealer. He also reportedly paid $ 2.4 million to his credit cards with investor funds and made $ 570,000 in political donations.
The SEC claims that nine days after committee staff interviewed Frost, he withdrew $ 100,000 from accounts of an investor -containing company and wrote $ 210,875 in company accounts to a business that specializes in the sale of gold coins. The SEC has the property of the frozen Frost.
The messages to Ericsson, Hewitt and Kirk were not returned immediately.
In a message on the website, first freedom wrote: “First freedom hopes to provide additional information and updates in the near future about the status of the company’s efforts to bind a neat business wind.”
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