91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Insurance company to pay $6.7 million to some victims of alleged Georgia Ponzi scheme

By
Madeline Montgomery
Madeline Montgomery
Reporter, CBS News Atlanta
Madeline Montgomery is a reporter for CBS News Atlanta, born and raised right here in the Peach State.
Read Full Bio
Madeline Montgomery

/ CBS Atlanta

Forty-six victims of what was allegedly Georgia's largest Ponzi scheme will get millions of dollars back, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Raffensperger says First Liberty Building and Loan scammed at least 150 people out of $140 million before the company went bust in 2025.

At a press conference on Wednesday, officials announced that Bankers Life Advisory Services and Bankers Life Securities agreed to pay 46 of those alleged victims $6.7 million due to a former financial advisor who directed clients to invest in First Liberty.

First Liberty Building and Loan was presented as a conservative, Christian investment opportunity. Party activists say many Republican investors were lured in by ads that played on conservative shows.

"The people that invested are, you know, 70, 80, 90-year-old seniors. And now they've virtually lost everything, or they've lost a big percentage of their net worth," said Raffensperger.

Republican Ponzi Scheme Georgia
The office of First Liberty Building and Loan, which federal officials allege was a Ponzi scheme, is shown on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Newnan, Georgia. Jeff Amy / AP

James McMaster said he heard about the alleged scheme on the radio and invested over $1.3 million. He intended to use what he earned to help with his sister's medical bills.

"When I found out, I was sitting at the doctor's office, and they took me back to do my blood pressure, and I told them, 'It'll probably be higher today,'" the 93-year-old joked.

McMaster thanked the entire team involved in investigating the alleged Ponzi scheme.

"Today marks an extraordinary moment in a long, difficult journey. A moment that would not be possible without the unwavering commitment of the secretary of state's office," said McMaster.

james-mcmaster.png
James McMaster said he invested over $1.3 million into First Liberty Building and Loan after heard about the company on the radio. CBS News Atlanta

Raffensperger believes there could be 300 victims and encourages anyone who may have been impacted to come forward.

The Secretary of State's Securities Division is currently investigating First Liberty Building and Loan. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused First Liberty and its founder of fraud.

Multiple people connected with the company, including the former chairman of the Coweta County Republican Party, have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and barred from acting as an investment adviser in the state.

The case has been referred to local district attorneys for criminal prosecutions.

In:

© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });