State alleges First Liberty-linked PAC ‘illegally influenced elections’

The alleged civil violations are the latest fallout from Newnan-based First Liberty, whose founder Brant Frost IV was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of diverting millions of dollars of investor money for personal use, including funneling more than $570,000 into political contributions to conservative candidates and causes.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found the Georgia Republican Assembly PAC was the top recipient of Frost campaign contributions. The Frost-linked committee supported far-right GOP contenders who often challenged more establishment candidates. In all, Frost IV and his family donated roughly $162,000 to the PAC, according to the AJC’s tally.

Ethics Commission Executive Director David Emadi indicated in a written statement that the charges announced Wednesday may be just the beginning.

“The ethics complaint filed today represent our initial charges against the Georgia Republican Assembly PAC,” Emadi said. “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.”

Frost and his attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. Frost has previously said he takes “full responsibility for my actions and am resolved to spend the rest of my life trying to repay as much as I can to the many people I misled and let down.”

The leaders of the Georgia Republican Assembly — which is separate from the political committee — could not immediately be reached for comment.

The state ethics complaint underscores the growing scrutiny the Frost family faces over what federal regulators describe as a $140 million Ponzi scheme involving roughly 300 investors.

The SEC lawsuit says Frost used investors’ money for everything from family vacation home rentals to jewelry to political contributions.

The AJC investigation found Frost, his family and their companies contributed nearly $1.4 million to candidates and political causes across the country — most of it since 2021, when the SEC says First Liberty became a Ponzi scheme.

The State Ethics Commission complaint says the Georgia Republican Assembly PAC registered as a political action committee, which can contribute money to candidates. But it never registered as an independent committee that can directly seek to influence voters under Georgia law, according to the commission’s complaint.

The complaint also says the committee failed to file 24 required campaign disclosures from October 2021 to June 2025. And it failed to properly report 36 campaign expenditures totaling more than $223,000.

If found guilty of all of the violations, the committee could face hundreds of thousands dollars of fines.

The State Ethics Commission and the SEC aren’t the only ones investigating First Liberty.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office has also launched a probe of First Liberty and investigators recently issued subpoenas to Brant Frost V, the owner’s son, after he launched a new lending firm. Frost V has not returned repeated messages seeking comment.

Raffensperger and Democratic Party of Georgia chair Charlie Bailey are among prominent political leaders urging officials and candidates who have received donations from the Frost family to contact authorities to help investors recoup their money.

S. Gregory Hays, who was tapped by a federal judge to help recover assets, said more than $130,000 in political and charitable donations have already been returned.

AJC senior editor Charles Minshew contributed to this report.