Todd Burkhalter sentenced to 20 years for $380M Ponzi scheme

Todd Burkhalter, the former CEO of Georgia-based financial advisory group Drive Planning LLC, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. The sentence, handed down by a U.S. District Judge in Atlanta, is the maximum allowed by law for his role in a massive Ponzi scheme.

Between September 2020 and June 2024, Burkhalter and his associates defrauded more than 2,000 investors of approximately $380 million. The scheme involved offering investment vehicles, such as the Real Estate Acceleration Loan, which promised quarterly returns of 10% purportedly backed by real estate. In reality, the funds were used to finance a luxury lifestyle, pay commissions to agents, and pay off earlier investors.

Federal prosecutors noted that Burkhalter encouraged victims to deplete college funds and retirement accounts. The scheme began to unravel after a developer issued a cease-and-desist letter to the firm in 2023, an event Drive Planning failed to disclose to its clients. Two of Burkhalter's associates have also been sentenced in connection with the fraud.