The founder and CEO of a Georgia-based financial advisory group that bilked investors out of millions learned how long he’ll spend in prison Friday.
Todd Burkhalter, Drive Planning LLC CEO, was sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release.
The 55-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida, man was convicted for organizing a Ponzi scheme that operated for years and defrauded more than 2,000 investors out of nearly $400 million.
The funds were used, in part, to fund Burkhalter’s luxurious lifestyle, prosecutors said.
“Todd Burkhalter organized what is likely the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history to fund an extravagant lifestyle. He even continued to exploit victims while under federal investigation,” said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.
Drive Planning marketed several investment opportunities — including the “Real Estate Acceleration Loan” or “REAL,” and the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund” or “CORE Fund,” according to the U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg and information presented in court.
“Todd Burkhalter lured investors to send millions of dollars to Drive Planning for investments that he knew didn’t actually exist,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
At Burkhalter’s direction, the company told investors they didn’t have to be accredited investors to take part, as the investments were “easy and simple.”
Drive Planning also encouraged participants to invest money from retirement accounts, savings and lines of credit.
Investigators say REAL was the scheme’s primary investment product. Burkhalter called REAL a bridge loan opportunity that would provide investors a 10% return every three months.
Drive Planning claimed it was safe investment with real estate as collateral, offering short-term bridge loans to real estate developers looking to use money to fund projects.
To fool investors, Burkhalter had the company prepare fake “collateral sheets” identifying properties being used as collateral, investigators said.
Investigators also said the company lied about their relationship with developers, particularly with one well-known real estate investor.
The well-known developer, which remained unnamed in the information provided by prosecutors, ended up suing Drive Planning and Burkhalter over using their name without permission in the deception.
Drive Planning also falsely claimed its investments gave investors passive income through tax liens, guaranteeing investors a return of 10% every six months, or a 22% return per year for up to three years.
The company “further misrepresented that investors’ contributions to the CORE Fund were pooled together, government-protected, and fully collateralized,” according to the federal investigators.
Drive Planning received at least $4.1 million from those who wanted to invest in the CORE Fund. But the company didn’t invest in the fund after Dec. 9, 2022.
Instead, the money was used to pay off other investors, make commission payments and “pay for personal expenditures.”
According to prosecutors, Burkhalter spent the money on a luxurious lifestyle:
- About $2 million on a yacht
- $2.1 million as part of a purchase of a luxury condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
- $800,000 on luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Prevost Marathon motorcoach and two 2024 Land Rovers
- Millions of dollars on luxury travel, including chartering private jets
- $320,000 on clothing, jewelry, and beauty treatments.
The scheme continued even while the company was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC got a temporary restraining order and civil enforcement actions against Drive Planning and others in relation to the scheme.
In addition to the prison time, Burkhalter was ordered to pay $233,777,763.82 to victims.
In addition to Burkhalter, two other executives with Drive Planning were sentenced this week.
David Bradford, 53, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in the CORE Fund scheme as Drive Planning’s chief operating officer.
He was sentenced to four years and three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Bradford was also ordered to pay $4,297,878.16 in restitution.
Julie Edwards, 59, of Cumming, pleaded guilty to laundering proceeds. She was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $630,000 in restitution to victims.
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