The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint against the Frost Family of Newman, Georgia-based First Liberty Building and Loan, alleging that Edwin Brant Frost IV, the company’s owner, orchestrated a $140 million Ponzi scheme. Frost allegedly funneled investor funds into a lavish personal lifestyle and hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions.

First Liberty’s website prominently touted that its leaders were “authentic followers of Christ.”

But First Liberty displayed all the classic hallmarks of a financial fraud. Despite its official-sounding name, the company was not a bank. As a non-bank, it offered no FDIC protection – a fact that many victims say they didn’t realize. In a market with 4% rates on Treasury bonds and CDs, First Liberty was promising interest rates as high as 18%. This promise alone should have raised immediate red flags. Yet the scheme drew in not just retirees and laypeople, but public officials like Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell who invested $29,000 from his political action committee (Alabama Christian Citizens)—and lost all of it. Even an auditor for the state of Alabama should know better.

Frost promoted his offerings on various Christian podcasts, including shows hosted by Hugh Hewitt and Erick Erickson. He regularly described how he became a born-again Christian at a multilevel marketing business event.

Perhaps I’m a cynic, but my default response is skepticism when someone loudly proclaims their faith while promoting their business interests. (And my skepticism goes off the charts when a person’s religion IS his business interest.) If someone is ethical and moral, I presume they will tell me with their actions, not their marketing materials.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), there are more than 250 different certifications available to bolster the resumes of people in the numerous “investment helper” industries. One designation I recently ran across is Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA), which brands itself as the “standard of excellence for biblically wise financial advice.” I’m sure a lot of good people hold this designation – possibly even some well-intentioned, ethical advisors. But of the people I’ve known who are closest to saintly, none of them see (or market) themselves as such – and they certainly don’t advertise their godliness on their websites or business cards. Their character is the foundation for how they live and treat others – not a business development tool.

What happened with First Liberty wasn’t just a Ponzi scheme—it was a calculated, targeted betrayal. Frost and his associates focused their efforts on local retirement communities, church congregations, and those drawn in by shared faith. It was financial exploitation wrapped in religious language, designed to lower defenses and build trust. And that, in many ways, is the most disturbing part.

David Moon is president of Moon Capital Management. A version of this piece originally appeared in the USA TODAY NETWORK.