Todd Burkhalter executed one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Georgia history while acquiring a yacht, a luxury condo in Mexico, luxury vehicles, and jewelry via fraudulent real estate investments.
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A Florida man has pleaded guilty to committing years of wire fraud in Georgia to fund a life of luxury — while costing his more than 2,000 investors a total of $380 million.
Todd Burkhalter, who was founder and CEO of the Georgia-based Drive Planning LLC, executed what the feds are calling one of the largest Ponzi schemes in the state’s history while acquiring a yacht, a luxury condo in Mexico, luxury vehicles, jewelry and chartering private jets.
“Unbelievably, Burkhalter shamelessly continued to scam his victims even while under federal investigation,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Today’s guilty plea is just the first step in holding Burkhalter accountable for the considerable harm he caused.”
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From Sept. 2020 to June 2024, Burkhalter marketed real estate investment opportunities, including the Real Estate Acceleration Loan (REAL) opportunity and the Cash Out Real Estate Fund (CORE fund). The swindler told prospective investors they need not be accredited investors and encouraged them to draw money from retirement accounts, savings and lines of credit for investment purposes, prosecutors revealed in the statement.
The REAL program was the firm’s primary investment vehicle, the Justice Department said. Burkhalter allegedly marketed the program as a bridge loan that would “guarantee” investors a 10 percent return every quarter.
Burkhalter and his company falsely claimed that the bridge loans were provided to real estate developers in need of cash flow to complete existing projects or fund new ones, and said those loans were backed by non-existent collateralized real estate. To delude investors, the company created fraudulent “collateral sheets” that identified properties with “valuations” that served as investment collateral.
Burkhalter and Drive Planning also perpetuated a fictional narrative about the company’s relationships with developers. After one high-profile developer based in Atlanta learned about the company using the developer’s name to promote the REAL investment, the developer sued.
When it came to the CORE fund, Burkhalter falsely asserted that the fund gave investors “100 percent passive income from tax liens” and provided a return of 10 percent every six months, or a 22 percent return per year for up to three years. He also falsely claimed that investors’ contributions to the fund were pooled, government-protected and completely collateralized. Burkhalter and others at the company likewise never disclosed that Drive Planning did not invest any money into CORE after about Dec. 9, 2022.
From the outset, Burkhalter operated the funds as a Ponzi scheme, using the company’s first $50,000 investment to repay an early investor in Drive Planning, the Justice Department said. He also reportedly used $80,000 in investor money to pay his ex-wife’s attorney fees and expenses related to recreational vehicles.
Over the course of the scheme, Burkhalter spent $2 million in investor funds to buy a yacht; $2.1 million to purchase a condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; $800,000 to nab luxury vehicles; millions to engage in luxury travel; and $320,000 on clothing, jewelry and beauty treatments.
“Todd Burkhalter built a massive Ponzi scheme on lies, exploiting trust to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from more than 2,000 victims while funding an extravagant lifestyle,” Paul Brown, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. “The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue those who weaponize fraud and deception against investors, and we are committed to holding them fully accountable and seeking justice for every victim harmed.”
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The Securities and Exchange Commission started investigating Drive Planning around March 2024, after which Burkhalter continued to solicit millions from investors for the REAL and CORE funds.
At a Tampa Bay Rays game in May 2024, Burkhalter posted on Instagram a photo of Drive Planning’s advertisements behind home plate at Tropicana Field. Burkhalter paid the team $400,000 for the marketing space, half of which the Rays ultimately had to return once Burkhalter’s scheme was uncovered, ABC Tampa Bay 28 reported.
The SEC then obtained a restraining order against Drive Planning in August 2024 and filed civil enforcement actions against the company in court. The government has conditionally promised to recommend that the court sentence Burkhalter to 17-and-a-half years in prison, in accordance with a plea agreement. Burkhalter’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2026 with U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson.
Email Lillian Dickerson
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