NEWNAN, Ga. — The Georgia State Ethics Commission is going after a political action committee tied to First Liberty Building & Loan, saying it violated Georgia law.
The commission said in a complaint filed on Wednesday that the Georgia Republican Assembly PAC failed to report tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of campaign expenditures, failed to file campaign reports and failed to properly register as an independent political committee before accepting any donations.
Ethics commission goes after PAC tied to First Liberty Ponzi scheme saying it violated GA law by WSB-TV on Scribd
The accusations in the complaint are just the latest hit against First Liberty, and its owner, Edwin Frost IV, who is accused of using investor money to fund a lavish lifestyle and to make political donations to Republican candidates and committees.
In a statement following the announcement of an SEC investigation into the company, Frost took full responsibility and apologized for misleading investors.
In an email to Channel 2 Action News, the ethics commission’s deputy director and general counsel, Steven Knittel, said, “These are our initial charges against GRA PAC, and our investigation remains ongoing.”
The commission’s executive director, David Emadi, promised more charges could be coming.
“Our investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be coming at a future date, but we intend to aggressively pursue all violations of Georgia law committed by the GRA, which illegally influenced elections in 2022 and 2024,” Emadi said in a statement.
Channel 2 Action News spoke with the lead investigator this week, who is heading up the investigation for the Secretary of State’s Office against First Liberty.
Federal investigators originally believed there were about 300 investors in First Liberty, but state investigators now think that number may be much, much higher and are spread out over 10 states.
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“When people invested in this, they didn’t just take a portion of their assets or their life savings. They put everything there,” said Noula Zaharis, Assistant Commissioner of Securities with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Zaharis told Elliot they’ve been in contact with more than 100 investors so far, most of them elderly who say they’ve lost everything.
“They are grieving. Our team has spoken to individuals in their late 70s and 80s who are actually on the phone crying with our team because they’ve lost everything. They’re not in a place where they can go out and get a job. They don’t know how they’re going to make it,” Zaharis said.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission shut down First Liberty in early July.
The Secretary of State’s Office is urging investors to come forward.
“At this point, every person who’s ever been a victim like this needs to know it’s not their fault. It’s these other guys’ fault,” Gabe Sterling, Secretary of State office COO, said.
The Secretary of State’s Office has a place on its website where potential victims can fill out their information.
We reached out to Frost’s attorney and they said they had no comment.
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