Georgia’s Raffensperger Wins $6.7 Million Refunds in Alleged $156 Million Ponzi Scheme
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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday that his office persuaded Bankers Life, a unit of Indiana-based CNO Financial Group, to repay $6.7 million to 46 investors who lost money in an alleged $156 million Ponzi scheme run through First Liberty Building & Loan. The deal targets investments sold by former Bankers Life adviser Timothy Nathaniel Darnell and comes as the SEC pursues a separate lawsuit alleging First Liberty leader and GOP activist Brant Frost IV stole $17 million for himself, relatives and affiliated companies. Raffensperger’s securities division has already levied $500,000 in civil fines against three people tied to the scheme and has referred them to prosecutors for possible criminal charges, while also winning new legislative authority to enhance compensation for securities-fraud victims. The case has drawn intense political interest because prominent Republicans — including a company run by former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, Alabama Auditor Andrew Sorrell and a Sorrell-linked PAC — were among those who lost money, and because many grassroots activists were reportedly recruited via pitches on popular conservative talk shows. Raffensperger, reviled by many Trump loyalists for refusing to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia, is using the highly visible crackdown to present himself to GOP primary voters as a tough financial watchdog as he runs for governor in a crowded May 19 primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp.