Leader of far-right group fined $500,000 in connection with alleged First Liberty Ponzi scheme

The president of the Georgia Republican Assembly, a right wing political organization, has been fined $500,000 for his alleged involvement in an suspected Ponzi scheme that authorities say defrauded investors out of $140 million, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office announced Wednesday.  Timothy Nathaniel Darnell, who once worked for Bankers Life Advisory Services, has been […]

The president of the Georgia Republican Assembly, a right wing political organization, has been fined $500,000 for his alleged involvement in an suspected Ponzi scheme that authorities say defrauded investors out of $140 million, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office announced Wednesday. 

Timothy Nathaniel Darnell, who once worked for Bankers Life Advisory Services, has been accused of directing 45 people to invest in the now-defunct First Liberty Building and Loan, a Newnan-based lending firm with longstanding ties to the Republican Party, between 2020 and 2025. According to an emergency order from the secretary of state’s office, 29 of those people were his clients at Bankers Life, and Darnell failed to disclose his outside business activity to his employer. 

The secretary of state’s office also accused Darnell of using his religion and political beliefs to persuade clients to invest in First Liberty, and fraudulently collecting nearly $250,000 in commissions from those investors.

The case is being referred to the Cobb County district attorney’s office for potential criminal prosecution, according to the secretary of state’s office, which is tasked with regulating Georgia’s securities market. Darnell is also barred from acting as an agent or investment advisor in the state of Georgia under the order.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose office has been investigating First Liberty alongside the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, said he is seeking the maximum fine allowed under state law.

“Exploiting faith and politics for an affinity fraud warrants the full $500,000 fine,” Raffensperger said in a statement. 

In a statement, Darnell’s lawyer Doug Gilfillan argued that the accusations are without merit.

“Mr. Darnell denies the allegations in the Emergency Order,” he wrote. “Mr. Raffensperger has rushed to judgment and improperly rushed to the press for his own political gains. Although we previously asked the Secretary of State for the chance to discuss this matter before it took any action, the Secretary of State ignored that request and did not provide us an opportunity to address these allegations before making them public. Although we have sympathy for those who lost money, we will continue to defend Mr. Darnell in this matter.”

Georgia fines former First Liberty principal as part of alleged Ponzi scheme investigation 

The order was issued a week after a former principal of First Liberty, Brant Frost V, was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine for alleged investment fraud by the secretary of state’s office.

Last year, federal officials filed a lawsuit accusing First Liberty’s founder and Frost V’s father, Brant Frost IV, of a Ponzi scheme defrauding 300 investors out of at least $140 million. The company allegedly targeted right-wing and evangelical Christian groups with promises that their money would be used to help promote causes like serving the needy and building new churches.

But the feds said Frost IV spent investor money on jewelry, a vacation home and other luxuries. A special receiver appointed by the court has recovered about $3.5 million of the lost assets, according to a January report.

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