Fraud Friday: Brant Frost IV, $140 Million Ponzi SBA Bridge Loan Schemer, Gets Sentencing Delay

August 14, 2026

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher

Fraud Friday: Brant Frost IV, $140 Million Ponzi SBA Bridge Loan Schemer, Gets Sentencing Delay

Edwin Brant Frost IV was supposed to be sentenced today.

He will not be there.

His lawyers asked Chief Judge Leigh Martin May to move the hearing to October 26. The government did not oppose it. The judge granted it.

So Frost gets ten more weeks before learning how much time he will serve for a $140 million Ponzi scheme.

Frost ran First Liberty Building & Loan and sold investors on short-term, high-interest SBA bridge loans to small businesses. He marketed the company as part investment firm, part ministry, promising returns of roughly 8% to 18%.

The money came from about 300 investors, including retired teachers, ministers, businessmen, doctors, and lawyers.

By 2021, the loan book could not support the returns Frost had promised. New investor money began paying out to old investors.

Frost also took more than $5 million for himself and his family, including more than $140,000 in jewelry, over $230,000 to rent a vacation home in Kennebunkport, and more than $570,000 in political contributions. 

When Frost was arraigned in April, he signed a $10,000 unsecured appearance bond. No cosigner. No cash deposit. No collateral.

Ten thousand dollars on a $140 million fraud.

That is a 0.007% coverage ratio.

He has been out on that piece of paper ever since.

Frost pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The statutory maximum is 20 years.

The sentencing math gets ugly fast.

His base offense level is 7. Add 24 levels because the loss was at least $65 million. Add 6 because at least 25 victims suffered substantial financial hardship. Add another 4 because the offense involved a securities law violation and Frost was an investment adviser.

That gets you to level 41.

Give him the full three-level reduction for accepting responsibility, and he lands at level 38; for a first-time offender, that produces a guideline range of roughly 235 to 293 months.

But the statute tops out at 20 years.

The government has agreed to recommend 14 years.

There is one more lever. If prosecutors determine that his cooperation constitutes substantial assistance, they can seek a lower sentence. That may help explain why defense counsel wanted additional time before sentencing. But the decision belongs to the government. That cooperation could be worth years of his life.

The judge does not have to accept it.

Frost also agreed to full restitution, immediate financial disclosure, and restrictions on his use of assets before sentencing. He cannot sell, hide, waste, encumber, or devalue any asset worth more than $5,000 without government approval.

The man who spent $230,000 renting a house in Kennebunkport now needs federal permission to sell a used car.

Frost turns 69 this year.

If the judge gives him 14 years, he leaves prison an old man. If she goes higher, the practical consequence becomes harder to ignore.

For now, he remains free in Coweta County on a $10,000 promise.