The CEO of a Georgia financial advising firm was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison for running a massive $380 million Ponzi scheme that bankrolled a lifestyle filled with yachts, private jets and luxury shopping.
Todd Burkhalter, founder of Atlanta-area Drive Planning LLC, led what authorities described as one of the largest fraud schemes in Georgia history, siphoning millions from more than 2,000 investors over several years.
Burkhalter, 59, received the two-decade sentence from US District Court Judge Tiffany R. Johnson. Two company executives tied to the scheme were also sentenced this week, each receiving less than five years in prison for their roles.
Attorneys for Burkhalter had sought a 14-year prison term, while federal prosecutors recommended 17 and a half years under a plea agreement reached in January.
“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,” FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said.
The Florida executive had pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges after a years-long federal investigation into the fraudulent investment operation.
From September 2020 through June 2024, Drive Planning promoted investment opportunities that brought in nearly $400 million from investors, while using new funds almost immediately to pay earlier participants in classic Ponzi scheme fashion.
Prosecutors said Burkhalter diverted the money to finance lavish personal purchases, including a $2 million yacht, a $2.1 million condominium in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and about $800,000 worth of vehicles, among them a motorcoach and two Land Rovers.
He also spent millions on luxury travel, chartering private jets, $800,000 to pay his ex-wife’s attorney and another $320,000 on clothing, jewelry, and beauty treatments.
Two of the investment options pushed on victims were the “Real Estate Acceleration Loan” opportunity (“REAL”) and the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund” (“CORE Fund”)
Burkhalter and crew claimed the investments were “easy and simple,” and encouraged their victims to use money from retirement accounts, savings, and lines of credit.
REAL was the primary investment vehicle Burkhalter used in the scheme as short term-loans – bridge loans – while CORE Fund was promised to provide “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens.”
“Burkhalter and Drive Planning deceived investors into believing their investments were safe by claiming they were fully collateralized by real estate,” the Northern Georgia US Attorney’s Office said. “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.”
Drive Planning COO David Bradford helped Burkhalter in the CORE Fund ruse that stole $4.1 million from investors
Bradford, a 53-year-old pastor and father of six, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
He was sentenced to four years behind bars and was ordered to pay $4,297,878.16 in restitution to victims, some of whom he had met in church.
Bradford branded himself a “coward” for being a part of the scheme.
“I participated in that fraud and I benefited from it, and there’s no excuse for what I did. I deceived myself and, in turn, I deceived the people who trusted me,” he said during his sentencing hearing.
Drive Planning Chief Administrative Officer Julie Edwards was sentenced to two years in federal prison for her role in the scheme of laundering proceeds and used $630,000 of the investors’ funds to purchase a home in Cumming, Ga.
All three con artists will face three years of supervised release after their prison sentences.
