The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Georgia man Edwin Brant Frost IV and his First Liberty Building & Loan, LLC, of a Ponzi scheme.

A prominent Georgia Republican accused of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme publicly apologized on Friday as a federal judge ordered his assets frozen and appointed a receiver to try to recover cash for investors.

A $140 million Ponzi scheme run by a Georgia-based lending firm and its founder defrauded around 300 investors, offering promissory notes and loan participation agreements with returns of up to 18%, the SEC said.