Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating Massive $380 Million Ponzi Scheme

ATLANTA – Todd Burkhalter, the founder and chief executive officer of the Georgia-based financial advisory group Drive Planning LLC, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for masterminding a years-long Ponzi scheme that allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle while causing thousands of investors to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. “Todd Burkhalter perpetrated what is likely the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Unbelievably, Burkhalter shamelessly continued to scam his victims even while under federal investigation. Today’s guilty plea is just the first step in holding Burkhalter accountable for the considerable harm he caused.” “Todd Burkhalter built a massive Ponzi scheme on lies, exploiting trust to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from more than 2,000 victims while funding an extravagant lifestyle,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue those who weaponize fraud and deception against investors, and we are committed to holding them fully accountable and seeking justice for every victim harmed.” According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: between September 2020 and June 2024, Drive Planning, at Burkhalter’s direction, marketed several investment opportunities, including the “Real Estate Acceleration Loan” opportunity (“REAL”) and the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund” (“CORE Fund”). Drive Planning claimed that investing in REAL and the CORE Fund was “easy and simple,” telling prospective investors that they did not need to be accredited investors to participate and encouraging them to invest money from retirement accounts, savings, and lines of credit. REAL was Drive Planning’s primary investment vehicle, which Burkhalter fraudulently marketed as a bridge loan opportunity that would guarantee investors a 10% return every three months. Drive Planning claimed that it offered short-term loans—the bridge loans—to real estate developers who needed immediate cash flow to complete existing projects or fund new ones. Burkhalter and Drive Planning deceived investors into believing their investments were safe by claiming that they were fully collateralized by real estate. To perpetuate these lies, Burkhalter directed Drive Planning to prepare fraudulent “collateral sheets” identifying properties—some of which did not even exist—with fictitious valuations that purportedly served as collateral for investments. Burkhalter and Drive Planning also falsely represented the extent of its relationship with real estate developers. In particular, Drive Planning highlighted its supposed relationship with a well-known real estate developer in Atlanta, Georgia (“Real Estate Developer-1”). In promissory notes with investors, Drive Planning falsely claimed investments were secured by real property within Real Estate Developer-1’s portfolio of properties. Eventually, Real Estate Developer-1 became aware that Drive Planning and Burkhalter were fraudulently using its name to promote the REAL investment. Real Estate Developer-1 sued Drive Planning and Burkhalter seeking to enjoin them from further using Real Estate Developer-1’s name. For the CORE Fund, Drive Planning falsely claimed that it provided “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens.” Drive Planning guaranteed investors a return of 10% every six months or a 22% return per year for up to three years. Drive Planning further misrepresented that investors’ contributions to the CORE Fund were pooled together, government-protected, and fully collateralized. Additionally, Burkhalter and others at Drive Planning failed to disclose that Drive Planning did not invest any funds in the CORE Fund after approximately December 9, 2022. In total, Drive Planning received at least $4.1 million from individuals who sought to invest in the CORE Fund. Burkhalter operated REAL as a Ponzi-scheme from its inception. In September 2020, after Drive Planning received its first $50,000 investment in REAL, Burkhalter used at least $21,000 to repay an earlier Drive Planning investor. None of the REAL funds were used for their supposed intended purpose—to finance bridge loans or enter joint ventures with real estate developers. Instead, within the first couple of months of marketing REAL, Burkhalter used at least $80,000 in investor money to pay his ex-wife’s attorneys and expenses related to recreational vehicles. Throughout the scheme, investors’ monies were used to pay off other Drive Planning investors, make commission payments to Drive Planning’s agents, and pay for personal expenditures. For example, Burkhalter spent approximately: $2 million to purchase a yacht; $2.1 million as part of a purchase of a luxury condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; $800,000 on multiple luxury vehicles, including a 2020 Prevost Marathon motorcoach and two 2024 Land Rovers; Millions of dollars on luxury travel, including chartering private jets; and $320,000 on clothing, jewelry, and beauty treatments. Even after the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) began investigating Drive Planning in approximately March 2024, Burkhalter and others continued to solicit tens of millions of dollars in investments for REAL and the CORE Fund. Over the course of the scheme, Burkhalter defrauded more than 2,000 investors out of approximately $380 million. In August 2024, the SEC obtained a temporary restraining order against Drive Planning and filed civil enforcement actions in federal court against Drive Planning and others related to the above-described scheme. Court-appointed receiver Kenneth D. Murena is responsible for attempting to recover funds and sell assets to repay Drive Planning’s many victims. Sentencing for Todd Burkhalter, 54, of St. Petersburg, Florida, will be scheduled at a later date before U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the government has conditionally promised to recommend that the Court sentence Burkhalter to 17 and a half years of imprisonment. The Court is not bound by the government’s recommendation, and, in determining the actual sentence, it will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, among other factors. David Bradford, the former chief operating officer of Drive Planning, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on December 16, 2025, based on his involvement in the CORE Fund scheme.