Lead investigator appointed in $140M Georgia Ponzi scheme

by Tim Darnell

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has appointed a veteran fraud and securities attorney to continue investigating an alleged Ponzi scheme run by a metro Atlanta lender with deep Republican ties.

On Friday, Raffensperger named Jason Doss as investigative agent into First Liberty and Loan, a Newnan, Georgia-based lender suspected of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme and defrauding about 300 investors.

Doss - a former president of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association and a founding board member of its foundation - can subpoena witnesses and documents, take testimony and hold hearings on behalf of this investigation.

“We have been investigating this fraud in conjunction with federal authorities, and what we have uncovered so far is shocking,” Raffensperger - who is running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in May - said. “This is a complex investigation, and victims across our state are hurting; they’ve been robbed of their retirement, and their future is uncertain.”

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Doss’ appointment comes as GOP legislative leaders want to curb Raffensperger’s efforts to investigate the now-defunct lender that contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to conservative candidates across multiple states using investor funds.

In mid January, Republicans introduced a bill that would transfer securities and commodities regulations from Raffensperger as the secretary of state to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.

House Bill 934 is sponsored by GOP state Reps. Noel Williams of Cordele, who chairs the House banking and finance committee; House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration of Mayberry; House Majority Caucus Chair Bruce Williamson of Monroe; Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones of Milton; House Majority Caucus Whip James Burchett of Waycross; and Carter Barrett of Cumming.

Williamson and Barrett also sit on the House banking committee.

First Liberty Building & Loan was a lending firm run by founder and owner Edwin Brant Frost IV. In July 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint alleging the company defrauded its investors from 2014 through June 2025.

The SEC said the company:

Promised high returns (up to 18%) on promissory notes and loan participation agreements;
Claimed investor funds would be used for short-term bridge loans to businesses at high interest rates;
Misrepresented loan performance, telling investors very few loans had defaulted;
Operated as a Ponzi scheme since at least 2021, using new investor funds to pay interest to existing investors; and
Made loans that mostly defaulted while telling investors everything was performing well.

The SEC said Frost misappropriated investor funds for personal luxury spending, including more than $2.4 million in credit card payments; more than $335,000 to a rare coin dealer; $230,000 on family vacations; a Maine vacation home; jewelry; and a $20,000 watch.