Overview
- Todd Burkhalter, 54, admitted to wire fraud for defrauding more than 2,000 investors from 2020 to 2024 in what authorities describe as Georgia’s largest Ponzi scheme.
- He marketed Drive Planning’s REAL and CORE offerings with promises of guaranteed double‑digit returns and used fabricated collateral sheets, including the unauthorized use of a well‑known developer’s name.
- Prosecutors say investor funds were used to pay earlier participants and finance luxury spending, including a $2.1 million Mexico condo, a $2 million yacht, high‑end vehicles, private jets, and jewelry.
- A court‑appointed receiver is liquidating assets to repay victims, and authorities say full restitution is unlikely as the FBI urges additional victims to come forward.
- Former COO David Bradford pleaded guilty in December and is set for sentencing on March 17, while Burkhalter’s sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.