A Georgia monetary advising CEO was sentenced Friday to twenty years behind bars for masterminding a $380 million Ponzi scheme to fund his lavish life-style of yachts, non-public jets and luxurious buying.
Todd Burkhalter, the founding father of Atlanta-area Drive Planning LLC, orchestrated certainly one of Georgia’s largest schemes and stole tens of millions from over 2,000 traders within the years-long con.
Burkhalter, 59, was ordered to serve twenty years in federal jail by US District Court docket Choose Tiffany R. Johnson, whereas two of his executives had been sentenced to lower than 5 years for his or her roles this week.
Burkhalter’s attorneys had requested for a 14-year sentence whereas federal prosecutors beneficial 17 and a half years as a part of a plea deal again in January.
“Todd Burkhalter organized what is probably going the biggest Ponzi scheme in Georgia historical past to fund an extravagant life-style. He even continued to use victims whereas below federal investigation,” Particular Agent in Cost of FBI Atlanta Marlo Graham mentioned.
The Florida govt had pleaded to wire fraud prices following a years-long investigation into the shady ventures.
Between September 2020 and June 2024, Drive Planning marketed funding alternatives to potential traders to safe practically $400 million in funds, even instantly utilizing the cash to repay early traders.
Burkhalter then used the pool of money for high-end private spending, together with shopping for a $2 million yacht, a $2.1 million condominium in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, dropped $800,000 on autos, together with a motorcoach and two Land Rovers.
He additionally spent tens of millions on luxurious journey, chartering non-public jets, $800,000 to pay his ex-wife’s lawyer and one other $320,000 on clothes, jewellery, and sweetness therapies.
Two of the funding choices pushed on victims had been the “Actual Property Acceleration Mortgage” alternative (“REAL”) and the “Money Out Actual Property Fund” (“CORE Fund”)
Burkhalter and crew claimed the investments had been “straightforward and easy,” and inspired their victims to make use of cash from retirement accounts, financial savings, and features of credit score.
REAL was the first funding automobile Burkhalter used within the scheme as brief term-loans – bridge loans – whereas CORE Fund was promised to supply “100% Passive Revenue from Tax Liens.”
“Burkhalter and Drive Planning deceived traders into believing their investments had been secure by claiming they had been absolutely collateralized by actual property,” the Northern Georgia US Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned. “To perpetuate these lies, Burkhalter directed Drive Planning to arrange fraudulent ‘collateral sheets’ figuring out properties—a few of which didn’t even exist— with fictitious valuations that purportedly served as collateral for investments.”
Drive Planning COO David Bradford helped Burkhalter within the CORE Fund ruse that stole $4.1 million from traders
Bradford, a 53-year-old pastor and father of six, pleaded responsible in December to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
He was sentenced to 4 years behind bars and was ordered to pay $4,297,878.16 in restitution to victims, a few of whom he had met in church.
Bradford branded himself a “coward” for being 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 flip, I deceived the individuals who trusted me,” he mentioned throughout his sentencing listening to.
Drive Planning Chief Administrative Officer Julie Edwards was sentenced to 2 years in federal jail for her position within the scheme of laundering proceeds and used $630,000 of the traders’ funds to buy a house in Cumming, Ga.
All three con artists will face three years of supervised launch after their jail sentences.
