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When Newnan businessman Edwin Brant Frost IV appears for sentencing Monday, October 26, federal prosecutors will ask for 14 years in prison for his role in the First Liberty Ponzi scheme. His attorneys will ask for five.
The competing recommendations come in two sentencing memoranda filed October 19 in U.S. District Court. They present sharply different accounts of the 69-year-old businessman who pleaded guilty in May to one count of wire fraud.
Frost’s attorneys submitted more than 80 character letters from family members, pastors, political associates, business owners, and longtime friends. They describe a generous Christian community leader who helped struggling businesses, supported charitable causes, and devoted considerable time to helping others.
Federal prosecutors describe a man who used religious and political connections to gain investors’ trust, ultimately causing more than $76 million in losses to more than 300 victims.
Several victims say they can no longer afford to retire. Others describe broken friendships, damaged health, and the loss of financial security built over decades.
Both sides agree that Frost should go to prison. The question before Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May is for how long.
A plea for mercy from family, friends, and pastors
Frost’s defense attorneys argue that his criminal conduct should be considered against the backdrop of decades of community service, charitable activities, and previously legitimate business operations.
Attorneys Marc Mukasey and Nicholas Lotito argue that a 14-year sentence could effectively mean Frost spends the remainder of his life in prison.
Among those supporting Frost is Pete Mullins, pastor emeritus of Coweta County Community Church, who wrote:
“I have rarely encountered an individual who has had such a positive impact on a community. It would be difficult to find someone in Coweta County who has spent so much personal and professional virtue on behalf of others.”
Former Fayette County Commissioner Randy Ognio also submitted a letter describing his interactions with Frost at Republican gatherings dating back to 2011.
Ognio recalled helping the Frost family organize a 2016 campaign visit by presidential candidate Ted Cruz to Newnan.
“Mr. Frost has always been very polite and welcoming to my family and me,” Ognio wrote.
Other letters came from political associates, including Paul Broun, Chad Connelly of Faith Wins, and former Georgia state Sen. Mike Crane.
Religious leaders described Frost’s involvement in community prayer gatherings, Christian organizations, and charitable activities.
One particularly personal account came from Chris Brown, a longtime friend who described how Frost located him after the two had lost touch, encouraged him to seek treatment for addiction, and helped him rebuild his life.
Brown credits Frost with playing a significant role in his recovery and eventual reconciliation with his family.
Even some family members lost money
Frost’s daughter Katie was among the investors who suffered losses.
“I invested the majority of my savings with First Liberty and now find myself trying to rebuild financially,” she wrote.
Despite that loss, Katie describes her father as her hero and asks the court to show mercy.
“If you were to ask me to sum up my father, I would tell you that he is my hero. We know from history that heroes are not perfect men.”
Kelly and Charlene Levering, the parents of Frost’s daughter-in-law, Kayla Joy Frost, also invested in First Liberty.
“Like other investors, we lost money when Brant IV’s business collapsed,” they wrote. “He called us personally to share the news and accepted full responsibility without making excuses, which we appreciated.”
The Leverings told the court that they do not believe Frost acted with malicious intent and requested that justice be balanced with mercy.
Frost’s wife, Krista, described nearly 38 years of marriage and asked for a sentence that would allow him to return to his family and work toward restitution.
When First Liberty helped businesses survive
Several business owners offered accounts of First Liberty’s activities before the Ponzi scheme developed.
Mike Hardin, who owned a concrete construction company called Harcon, described the financial difficulties his business experienced during the 2008 recession.
His company reduced its workforce from approximately 600 employees to 60 and lost more than $4 million in 2011. Banks would no longer extend financing.
Hardin said Frost helped arrange approximately $4 million in loans over several years, allowing his company to remain in operation until it could obtain an SBA loan.
Donny McKinney described a similar experience when he attempted to establish a propane distribution company in 2012.
“At that time, obtaining financing was extremely difficult because the country was still recovering from the financial crisis,” McKinney wrote.
According to McKinney, Frost helped secure financing from private investors and a bank, allowing the business to open. The company now serves approximately 5,100 customers across 12 counties and employs 15 full-time workers.
Those accounts support the defense’s argument that First Liberty conducted legitimate lending business before its later fraudulent operations.
The defense acknowledges, however, that Frost eventually began using money from new investors to pay earlier investors while concealing defaults and financial problems within the company.
Prosecutors describe a different use of trust
In a 13-page sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors focus on the financial destruction caused by Frost’s actions and the ways he used religious and political connections to attract investors.
“A particularly aggravating aspect of Frost’s conduct is the way he targeted and manipulated investors by invoking religious and political identities,” prosecutors wrote.
According to the government, Frost marketed First Liberty as a Christian, conservative lending company and encouraged investors to trust both his business practices and his values.
Prosecutors describe a sustained fraud in which Frost continued seeking investors after he knew First Liberty could not meet its obligations.
The government also alleges that Frost diverted at least $5 million of investor funds for personal benefit.
According to the filing, expenditures included a $230,000 vacation home rental in Maine, more than $140,000 in jewelry, a $20,800 Patek Philippe watch, more than $335,000 paid to a rare coin dealer, more than $2 million in credit card payments, and more than $570,000 in political contributions.
These expenditures are central to the prosecution’s argument that Frost’s conduct cannot be explained simply as an attempt to save a struggling company.
Victims describe retirement plans destroyed
The prosecution’s memorandum includes accounts from numerous investors, identified only by their initials, who described financial and personal consequences of the scheme.
Victim J.A. reported investing an entire retirement fund with First Liberty. The investor had planned to retire in March 2026 but instead had to ask to remain employed.
Victim A.C. had planned to retire in May 2025, the same month First Liberty’s payments stopped. That investor reported losing more than $12,000 in anticipated monthly retirement income.
Victim S.S., who is 77, said losing monthly interest payments forced a return to work. The lost principal had come from an inheritance intended to provide financial support when working was no longer possible.
Another victim, D.H.H., reported having to return to work at age 70.
Victim L.H. described losing $600,000, representing nearly all of the couple’s retirement savings outside a small 401(k). The investor’s husband, who has health problems, now expects to continue working until age 70 rather than retire as planned.
Others described consequences extending beyond finances.
Victim J.B. reported that multiple members of the same extended family lost money after trusting Frost’s religious and conservative associations. The investor described financial insecurity, damage to family relationships, and declining physical health.
Victims B.B. and S.B. described losing trust in people who identify themselves as Christians because of Frost’s repeated emphasis on his faith while soliciting their investments.
Victim L.C., who reported being in their 80s along with a spouse, described uncertainty about meeting future financial needs and the pain of having been betrayed by someone considered a dear friend.
Victim C.S. reported receiving treatment at Emory for mental health problems following the financial loss.
Prosecutors argue that these consequences warrant a substantial prison sentence.
Selling generators and planning for prison
Since First Liberty closed, Frost has found work selling generators for an electrical contracting company owned by Joshua VanDusseldorp, a friend who offered him the position after learning about his legal problems.
Frost is also preparing for incarceration. His brother, Frederick Allen Frost, wrote that Frost has applied to Adams State University’s prison education program, intending to complete his undergraduate degree and pursue a teaching certificate so he can help other incarcerated people earn GEDs.
According to the letter, Frost has submitted application materials but cannot be formally admitted until he is incarcerated.
His attorneys contend that a shorter sentence would give him a greater opportunity to work toward repaying victims after his release.
What the judge will decide Monday
Frost pleaded guilty May 12 to one count of wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The advisory federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of 235 to 240 months, or just under 20 years, although the judge has discretion to impose a lower sentence.
Prosecutors are requesting 168 months, or 14 years, followed by three years of supervised release and restitution to victims.
They acknowledge that Frost accepted responsibility and resolved his criminal case without requiring a trial, saving government investigative and litigation resources.
His defense attorneys are requesting 60 months, or five years, followed by supervised release and restitution to be determined later.
The defense argues that Frost’s age, lack of prior criminal history, early guilty plea, community service, and efforts to make amends justify a substantially shorter sentence.
Chief Judge Leigh Martin May will determine Monday how much time Frost must serve for the fraud that ended his Newnan lending business and left more than 300 investors facing losses totaling over $76 million.
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