Todd Burkhalter spent years telling more than 2,000 investors that their money was safe, collateralized by real estate and guaranteed to return 10 percent every three months. On August 14, 2026, a federal judge in Atlanta gave him the statutory maximum instead: 20 years in prison. The sentence closes the criminal case against the founder of Drive Planning LLC, a Georgia financial advisory firm federal prosecutors describe as likely the largest Ponzi scheme in the state’s history. For an older investor weighing a guaranteed-return pitch today, the case is now a fully documented record of what those promises actually cost.
Twenty Years, the Statutory Maximum, and a $233.7 Million Restitution Order
U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson sentenced Burkhalter, 55, of St. Petersburg, Florida, at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Twenty years is the maximum term allowed by law for the wire fraud charge Burkhalter pleaded guilty to, and because parole has been abolished in the federal system, he will serve the sentence without any possibility of early release.
Johnson also ordered Burkhalter to pay $233,777,763.82 in restitution to victims of the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Two other Drive Planning executives were sentenced days earlier: former chief operating officer David Bradford received four years and three months in prison plus $4,297,878.16 in restitution for his role in a second fund, and former chief administrative officer Julie Edwards received two years plus $630,000 in restitution for laundering scheme proceeds.
Free retirement updates: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. Our free Retirement Shield newsletter breaks down what changed and what to do. Get it free in your inbox.
A Yacht Renamed “Live More,” a Cabo Condo and $320,000 in Jewelry
Court filings trace where a slice of the roughly $380 million went. In October 2023, Drive Planning wired $3.1 million to boat dealer MarineMax for a yacht Burkhalter later renamed “Live More.” Purchase records show at least $2 million of that payment came directly from investor funds, and the vessel was titled in Burkhalter’s name alone rather than the company’s, with MarineMax documents specifying Drive Planning would “hold no claim or interest” in it.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil complaint itemizes the rest of the spending: roughly $2.1 million toward a condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; $800,000 on vehicles including a 2020 Prevost Marathon motorcoach and two 2024 Land Rovers; more than $1.1 million wired to private jet company NetJets in a single month; $319,628 on clothing, jewelry and beauty treatments, including $69,293 at Diamonds Direct and $75,785 at Louis Vuitton; and a net $732,966 moved through Coinbase. Burkhalter also used investor funds to buy a ranch in Fannin County, Georgia, where he built an event venue he now rents out, and a clothing business in Blue Ridge, Georgia. The SEC concluded the purchases could only have come from investor money, since deposits from the REAL investment program made up more than 95 percent of everything that flowed into Drive Planning’s accounts.
The “Bridge Loan” That Never Financed a Single Loan
Burkhalter marketed Drive Planning’s flagship product, the Real Estate Acceleration Loan, or REAL, as a short-term bridge loan to property developers that would pay investors a guaranteed 10 percent return every three months. Sales materials told prospective investors that they did not need to be accredited to participate and that a $20,000 minimum investment would be pooled and secured by real estate.
Federal prosecutors said that collateral was largely fictional. According to the Justice Department’s account of Burkhalter’s guilty plea, he directed Drive Planning to prepare “collateral sheets” listing properties — some of which did not exist — with invented valuations attached to investor promissory notes, and the company falsely claimed a partnership with a well-known Atlanta developer that eventually sued to stop the misuse of its name. None of the REAL money went toward bridge loans or developer joint ventures; instead, new investors’ deposits paid obligations owed to earlier ones, a pattern regulators traced back to Drive Planning’s very first $50,000 investment in September 2020.
The CORE Fund’s Tax-Lien Promise That Quietly Stopped Being True
Drive Planning ran a second product alongside REAL called the Cash Out Real Estate Fund, or CORE Fund, pitched as “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens” with a guaranteed return of 10 percent every six months, or 22 percent a year, for up to three years. Drive Planning told investors their contributions were pooled, government-protected and fully collateralized. In fact, the company stopped putting any money into tax liens after roughly December 9, 2022, while continuing to accept new CORE Fund investments — at least $4.1 million worth — without disclosing that the underlying investments had stopped.
More Than 2,000 Victims, and a Receiver Now Chasing What’s Left
The scheme kept growing even after it drew regulatory scrutiny. Burkhalter and his sales agents kept soliciting tens of millions of dollars for REAL and the CORE Fund after the SEC opened an investigation in March 2024, and the agency did not move to shut the operation down until August 2024, when it obtained a restraining order and asked a federal court to appoint a receiver. Court-appointed receiver Kenneth D. Murena is now responsible for locating and selling whatever Drive Planning assets remain — the yacht, the vehicles, the Georgia ranch, the Cabo condo — to repay a victim pool the U.S. Attorney’s Office puts at more than 2,000 people who invested roughly $380 million over less than four years.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
More Financial Reading
- How many CDs can you park at 1 bank? FDIC rules you must know
- What really happens to your joint savings account when you die?
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
