Banker accused in $140 million Ponzi scheme bought a Patek Philippe watch, jaunts to Kennebunkport, and put millions on his credit cards, SEC says

A gold Patek Philippe watch on a man's wrist. (Credit: Photo by JB Lacroix/FilmMagic via Getty Images)

• A politically connected Georgia financier has been accused of running a multi-million Ponzi scheme that was helped along through targeted advertisements on right-wing and conservative media channeling the “Patriot Economy.” The SEC alleged in a lawsuit filed on Thursday that Edwin Brant Frost IV and his company First Liberty Building & Loan have been paying investors back for years by soliciting rounds of funds from new investors—the defining mark of a Ponzi operation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Edwin Brant Frost IV and his private lending company First Liberty Building & Loan with allegedly presiding over a sophisticated $140 million Ponzi scheme, according to a civil complaint filed on Thursday in federal court in Atlanta.