AJC:
The Frost family used nearly $1.4 million in campaign contributions, much of it allegedly swindled from investors, to build political clout in Georgia and across the nation over the past two decades, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis shows.
A review of thousands of federal and state campaign finance transactions shows Brant Frost IV, his family and his companies have contributed roughly $711,000 to Republican candidates and conservative causes in Georgia. But the Frosts also spread their contributions far beyond the Peach State, giving significant sums to candidates in Alabama, Florida, Maine and elsewhere….
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Frost IV and his Newnan-based firm, First Liberty Building & Loan, of orchestrating a $140 million Ponzi scheme — and funneling more than $570,000 of the proceeds into campaign coffers.
The AJC scoured state and federal campaign data from across the U.S. and found hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional contributions from the Frost family and their companies that show a broader pattern of political giving that sought to shape Georgia GOP politics, and served and bankrolled ultraconservative causes around the nation.
