Since 2021, when federal investigators claim First Liberty turned into a $140 million Ponzi scheme, the great bulk of those contributions have been made.
Owner Brant Frost IV allegedly used millions of investor funds for personal expenses, including over $570,000 in campaign contributions, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.
Days after Frost IV was interviewed by federal investigators, at least one significant contribution was noted.
The political contributions have not been discussed by Frost or his lawyer. However, Frost has stated that he accepts full responsibility for my actions and is determined to use the remainder of my life to attempt to make amends for the numerous individuals I deceived and disappointed.
Contributions to the campaign fueled the Frosts’ increasing political clout in Georgia, where they aimed to push the state Republican Party even further to the right. Politicians in Georgia are rushing to return contributions to help make investors whole and prevent political backlash, even if it’s unclear whose contributions were made using contaminated funds.
As politicians discover they are now linked to a developing scandal that affects elections in California, Florida, and the majority of states in between, the rush has extended to additional states.
Alabama fallout
Alabama has been more affected by the First Liberty affair than any other state except Georgia. According to the AJC’s study, the Frost family and their businesses gave close to $168,000 to local political organizations and politicians.
Justin Andrew Sorrell, the state auditor and next year’s contender for secretary of state of Alabama, was the top award. The Frost campaign gave $55,000 to the Muscle Shoals Republican.
Additionally, the Frosts donated $12,500 to Alabama Christian Citizens and U.S. Christian Citizens, two political committees that Sorrell oversees. Sorrell now has $80,000 in total campaign funds from Frost.
A $29,000 loan from Alabama Christian Citizens to First Liberty is another example of Sorrell’s financial connections to the Frosts. Interest payments on the loan were made to Sorrell’s committee until the company collapsed in June.
Special, McClatchy, and AP are credited.
Special, McClatchy, and AP are credited.
Sorrell inquired with the Alabama Ethics Commission before making the loan to see if it would be allowed by state campaign finance regulations. The news website AL.com reported that the panel said it would be lawful.
As a self-described Christian conservative, Sorrell backed candidates who shared his views on political committees. He was one of the most conservative members of the Alabama Legislature and a former state legislator.
Since 2021, the Frosts have backed his campaigns. Eight days after federal investigators interviewed Brant Frost IV for their inquiry, they gave $25,000 to Sorrell on May 23 of this year.
Sorrell claimed to be one of the hundreds of people who lost money in the purported Ponzi scam in a recent statement to the AJC.
According to Sorrell, the business had promoted itself as a Christian and patriotic investment opportunity through conservative channels. All of us who trusted the marketing and lost our assets have learned a difficult lesson from this regrettable circumstance, which occurs regularly throughout the United States.
According to Sorrell, he has given the receiver in charge of First Liberty his Frost donations back.
In order to make everyone whole, it’s crucial that any recovered funds go to the investors rather than the person who misled us, he stated.
The recipients of Frost’s campaign funds in Alabama were not limited to Sorrell. State Representative Benjamin Harrison ($22,800) and Allen Long ($40,500), a member of the Alabama State Board of Education, were among the others.
Long claimed that in order to provide the victims the best chance of recovering their investment, he had returned all of the money that was left in my campaign account to the receiver designated by the court. According to Long’s most recent campaign report, he had roughly $3,145 available.
Harrison has stated to the media in Alabama that he will to reimburse the funds.
A conservative push in Maine
Maine has a long history with the Frost family. It is where Brant Frost IV’s parents grew up. Additionally, the family took a vacation there. According to the SEC lawsuit, Frost rented a vacation home in Kennebunkport from 2019 to 2024, spending over $230,000 of investor funds.
According to Alex Titcomb, he became acquaintances with the Frosts in 2022.He is the head of Dinner Table Action, a political organization dedicated to electing conservatives to Maine’s public office.
The son of the founder of First Liberty, Brant Frost V, gave $480 to his cause. According to Titcomb, a meeting with Frost IV facilitated the acquisition of an extra $50,000 to back conservative legislative candidates in the election that fall.
Not just Dinner Table Action received campaign funds from the Frost family in Maine. According to the AJC investigation, they gave close to $139,000 to state candidates and causes between 2020 and 24.
The Maine Republican Party, which did not reply to requests for comment, was the largest receiver ($60,000). Additionally, the Frosts made contributions to specific candidates running for certain positions.
The First Liberty controversy was recently brought to Titcomb’s attention. According to him, Dinner Table Action will reimburse donations if mandated by law.
It wouldn’t be simple, though.
According to Titcomb, the funds are long gone because they were donated and used in 2022. Currently, we lack the funds necessary to reimburse that if we so choose or are compelled by law.
From coast to coast
Significant donations to conservative candidates and groups were also made by the Frost family and their businesses in Florida ($68,000), West Virginia ($34,700), and other states. In all, they contributed to political causes in at least 38 states.
The Frosts gave Attorney General Kris Kobach in Kansas over $28,000. Governor Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia was given around $34,000. In Florida, $25,000 was given to the Empower Parents political committee. Requests for comment on whether they would return the money were not answered by any of them.
According to the AJC investigation, the Frosts’ contributions were not restricted to well-known figures or large sums of money. They gave roughly $3,500 to Scott Herndon, who defeated a Republican incumbent state senator in Idaho in 2022, over the course of three years.
Self-described anti-abortion abolitionist Herndon filed legislation to remove the abortion prohibition in Idaho’s exceptions for rape and incest. The law was unsuccessful.
Last year, in a rematch with the previous incumbent, Herndon lost his seat. Requests for comment on Herndon’s contributions to Frost were not answered.
Source: Screenshot
Source: Screenshot
It might not be possible for candidates who took Frost contributions to keep quiet. There is increasing pressure on them to give the money back.
Secretary of State Wes Allen demanded that campaign contributions be returned to the court-appointed receiver after the Alabama Securities Commission launched an investigation into First Liberty Building & Loan last week.
Allen stated that he takes claims of financial fraud seriously, particularly when those claims affect campaign funding. To guarantee that the victims who have been deceived can be made whole, I urge all Alabamans who have been involved to work closely with law enforcement, particularly the SEC and our Alabama Securities Commission.
