January First Liberty Update: House Bill 934

First Liberty Building and Loan, the Newnan-based investment firm under investigation as a Ponzi Scheme, collapsed a little over six months ago. Since then, it has been under investigation by both federal and state authorities for defrauding investors of millions. Throughout the process, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office has made an effort to communicate with investors regarding any updates regarding the case.

In a recent email sent to investors, the office stated it had interviewed four key witnesses and was continuing to interview more. Additionally, the email mentioned that new legislation may affect who oversees the investigation at the state level.

House Bill 934 proposes the movement of the Securities Division from the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. If enacted, the two departments will coordinate to transfer information in order to efficiently carry over the process of financial investigations like the First Liberty case.

Some investors have expressed their concern that the process of moving the investigation to a different department could prove to be a setback on the investigation itself. For now, investors wait to see if the bill will be passed and if so, how it will affect the investigation that defrauded investors of millions of dollars in life savings.