From Loss to Lift: First Liberty Ponzi Scheme Victims Help Rebuild Each Other’s Lives

Lou can walk through her home again. (Lou is a pseudonym used at her request.)

Just weeks ago, she couldn’t. A widow in her seventies who walks with a cane, Lou had been struggling to move from room to room as health challenges, grief, and years of accumulated belongings overtook her space.

At the same time, she believed she had lost her life savings in the First Liberty Ponzi scheme—money she had entrusted to a financial advisor while trying to secure life insurance for her surviving son after the death of another.

Now, a network of fellow victims and their friends is stepping in to help her rebuild.

Boxes filled hallways. Furniture crowded every space. For a time, Lou was navigating not just loss, but a home that had become unmanageable.

Now, that is beginning to change.

Through a $6.7 million agreement involving Bankers Life and the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Lou and dozens of other victims who worked with advisor Timothy Nathaniel Darnell are expected to be made whole. For Lou, it means the money she thought was gone will be returned.

“It’s a blessing, a total blessing,” she said.

But for Lou, the recovery has not been only financial.

“I’ve got more friends in my life,” she said. “That means more than any money or anything else.”

A network built from loss

The effort now helping Lou traces back to 93-year-old James McMaster, one of the largest known victims of the First Liberty scheme.

McMaster lost more than $1.3 million—money built over a lifetime. In the aftermath, a small group formed around him, stepping in to help navigate what came next.

At the center of that effort is Lisa Deveraux, a close friend of McMaster.

Deveraux has been a linchpin in organizing victims—helping connect them, coordinating meetings, and assisting in advocacy with the receiver and the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. Alongside McMaster, she has helped bring structure and momentum to what began as a scattered group of individuals facing similar losses.

That network has continued to grow—and extend beyond McMaster’s immediate circle.

Reaching Lou

Deveraux said she first learned about Lou after reading her story in The Citizen.

“We saw the story of what she had been going through,” Deveraux said. “So we decided to reach out to see what help that we could extend.”

What they found was a home filled with items accumulated over years of hardship—many originally intended for a benefit sale that never happened after Lou’s son became ill and later died.

“She had a house and a garage and a carport just full of items that she was physically unable to move,” Deveraux said.

For Lou, who lives with lupus, fibromyalgia, and mobility limitations, the situation had become overwhelming.

Clearing the way forward

The first step was organization.

Volunteers began sorting, boxing, and categorizing the contents of the home. An estate sale is now being arranged, along with outreach to buyers and resellers. Items that do not sell will be donated.

“They’ve been packing things away and trying to help me get rid of some stuff that I wasn’t able to get my mind into where I needed to be,” Lou said.

They’ve also formed friendships along the way. Sandra, one of the primary volunteers helping organize the home, has spent days at a time working alongside Lou. The two have grown close, sharing meals and occasional lunches out between the work.

The goal is not only to clear the space, but to generate additional income that will go directly to Lou.

Even with restitution expected, Deveraux noted that Lou has lived for months without access to her savings.

“There’s some makeup work that needs to be done,” Deveraux said.

With the home clearing nearing completion, attention is turning to repairs.

The property needs exterior work, including roofing and siding, as well as interior updates. A key focus is improving accessibility to match Lou’s current and future needs.

“She needs more of a walk-in shower with safety railings,” Deveraux said.

Much of the work is being led by volunteers, including experienced professionals contributing time, materials, and expertise.

Victims helping victims

What began as support for McMaster has evolved into something broader.

According to Deveraux, other victims have stepped forward to help where they can—even as they continue to process their own losses.

“These are victims that want to help the other victims,” she said. “They’ve been taken for all this money, but they still want to do whatever they can.”

The effort reflects a shared understanding—one built not just on financial loss, but on what comes after.

More than restitution

The Bankers Life agreement represents a major step forward, restoring funds that had been lost.

Lou said she is grateful.

“I’m just so thankful that they stepped up and helped us,” she said.

But in her case, the story does not end with a check.

It continues in the people who showed up, the work still being done, and the sense of connection that followed.

“We always have mercy”

For Deveraux, the motivation is rooted in something deeper.

“We may not always get justice, but we always have mercy,” she said.

That belief has guided the effort from the beginning—first around McMaster, and now extending to others like Lou.

“If you’re able to give a hand, you’ve got to pull that person up beside you,” she said.

A different kind of recovery

Back inside her home, Lou sees the results taking shape.

Rooms are opening up. Repairs are beginning. Plans are in motion.

“It’s been a blessing,” she said.

Not just because her money is coming back.

But because she is no longer facing it alone.