Drive Planning Founder Sentenced to 20 Years for $380 Million Ponzi Scheme
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Todd Burkhalter, founder and CEO of Georgia-based financial advisory group Drive Planning LLC, received a 20-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating a years-long Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 2,000 investors of approximately $380 million.
ThinkAdvisor reports that a U.S. District Judge ordered Burkhalter to pay $233,777,763.82 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
According to information presented by federal prosecutors, Drive Planning marketed two investment opportunities between September 2020 and June 2024: the Real Estate Acceleration Loan, known as REAL, and the Cash Out Real Estate Fund, or CORE Fund. The company told investors that REAL offered guaranteed returns of 10 percent every three months through short-term real estate bridge loans. Drive Planning also represented that investor funds had full real estate collateral.
Prosecutors alleged that Burkhalter never used REAL investments for their stated purpose. Instead, he directed investor funds toward payments to earlier investors, commissions to Drive Planning agents and personal expenses.
According to ThinkAdvisor, Drive Planning allegedly created fraudulent collateral sheets that listed properties and valuations as security for investments. Some of the properties did not exist, according to prosecutors. The company also allegedly misrepresented its relationship with a prominent Atlanta real estate developer and claimed that investor funds received protection from properties within the developer's portfolio. The developer eventually sued Burkhalter and Drive Planning after learning that they had used its name to promote REAL.
Drive Planning also marketed the CORE Fund as an opportunity to generate "100 percent Passive Income from Tax Liens." The company promised investors a 10 percent return every six months, or 22 percent annually for up to three years. Prosecutors alleged that Drive Planning falsely represented that CORE Fund investments were pooled, government-protected and fully collateralized. The company received at least $4.1 million from investors seeking to participate in the fund but stopped investing funds in the CORE Fund after approximately December 9, 2022.
Burkhalter allegedly used investor money for substantial personal expenditures. Prosecutors said he spent approximately $2 million on a yacht, $2.1 million toward a luxury condominium in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and $800,000 on luxury vehicles. He also spent millions on luxury travel, including private jet charters, and approximately $320,000 on clothing, jewelry and beauty treatments.
ThinkAdvisor reports that the scheme continued even after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating Drive Planning in approximately March 2024. According to prosecutors, Burkhalter and others continued soliciting tens of millions of dollars from investors through REAL and the CORE Fund.
In August 2024, the SEC obtained a temporary restraining order against Drive Planning and brought civil enforcement actions in federal court. Court-appointed receiver Kenneth D. Murena now oversees efforts to recover funds and liquidate assets for the company's victims.
Federal prosecutors described Burkhalter's conduct as an extensive fraud that continued even while authorities investigated the company.
According to ThinkAdvisor, two other Drive Planning executives also received prison sentences for their roles in the scheme. David Bradford, the company's former chief operating officer, received a four-year-and-three-month sentence and $4,297,878.16 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Julie Edwards, the former chief administrative officer, received a two-year sentence and $630,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to laundering proceeds of the Ponzi scheme.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, ponzi scheme, securities fraud, investment fraud, drive planning llc, financial advisor fraud





