Former Chattanooga accountant Jonathan Frost, who has signed a plea agreement for three federal financial crimes and could then owe the government at least $70 million, is scheduled to appear for a plea hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday in federal court.
Magistrate Judge Christopher H. Steger will preside over Frost’s hearing, set in courtroom 1B, according to court records. Frost is accepting responsibility for his actions, according to his attorney, Lee Davis. The lawyer said by text that the next step is the guilty plea. Davis had no further comment for now, he said.
Frost, his attorney and a federal prosecutor signed a plea agreement that was filed Jan. 27. In it, Frost agreed to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges involving wire and tax fraud and money laundering.
“The defendant is pleading guilty,” the plea agreement states, “because the defendant is in fact guilty.”
Frost agreed to decades of potential prison time and multimillion-dollar financial penalties, including, unless otherwise negotiated, the multimillion-dollar judgment in favor of the United States.