The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is conducting its own investigation into alleged fraud by First Liberty Building and Loan, which could lead to state charges as well as any federal charges filed.

The office launched its parallel investigation into First Liberty as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into allegations of fraud in July, said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a brief interview in LaGrange.

His office’s investigation into the scandal has fielded 146 complaints. Of those, it has already reached out to 139 complainants and spoken to 110 of them. Those complainants have provided the office with 65 documents for the investigation and accounts for $43.5 million in losses.

First Liberty was founded by Brant Frost IV and run by him and h

See Full Page