Georgia financial advisor admitted to scamming $380M from 2,000 clients in Ponzi scheme. How to spot shady investments

Eric Esposito

Sun, February 15, 2026 at 11:00 PM GMT+9 6 min read

Thousands of clients trusted Todd Burkhalter to invest their money in high-yielding real estate loans. In reality, Burkhalter was running a massive Ponzi scheme while splurging on motorcoaches and holidays in Mexico.

These lies came to light in January 2026 when Burkhalter pleaded guilty to wire fraud through his Atlanta-based company Drive Planning LLC. With a total of $380 million from 2,000 clients, the U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg estimates this is “likely the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history.”

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Burkhalter’s multi-year scam centered on two products that his business, Drive Planning, advertised between September 2020 and June 2024. The first, known as the “Real Estate Acceleration Loan” opportunity (“REAL”), claimed to invest in short-term loans to real estate developers and offer returns of 10% every three months.

Drive Planning’s second fraudulent offering was called the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund” (“CORE Fund”), which falsely claimed to invest in tax liens to provide returns of 10% every six months.

Any money Todd Burkhalter received from these funds went to pay off other investors or for lavish personal purchases, including $2 million on a yacht, $2.1 million on a condo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury cars, jewelry, and clothes.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia, Burkhalter could face more than 17 years in prison for his crimes.

For the victims of the scheme, there isn’t much hope of recovering all of their money. Although a court-appointed receiver will sell Drive Planning’s assets and redistribute funds, it likely won’t be enough to cover everyone’s investments (1).

Patterns in a Ponzi scheme

Of the $12.5 billion lost to fraud in 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that $5.7 billion was due to deceptive investment deals like Drive Planning. Not only are fraudulent investments the leading cause of lost funds in these cases, the FTC notes that’s an increase of 24% from 2023 data (2).

Research from Emory University in 2015 recently uncovered the most likely targets of Ponzi schemes — and it’s not the ultra-wealthy. According to this data, three groups tend to be most at risk of falling into these traps: the elderly, affinity groups (e.g., religious or professional associations), and family or friends of the victims. Roughly 46% of Ponzi schemes examined in this study involved victims who were elderly or had ties to a group (3).

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Looking into the details of Drive Planning’s marketing, it’s easy to see this connection with its calls to retirees and those nearing retirement.

Drive Planning deliberately encouraged people to use money from their retirement accounts, savings, and even lines of credit to take advantage of their “easy and simple” investments.

Drive Planning also worked hard to build trust by creating fake documents that appeared legitimate.

For example, Burkhalter sent “collateral sheets” full of carefully crafted — but completely made-up — details about the properties they allegedly held to provide greater security.

Drive Planning also claimed to be working with a real estate developer in Georgia, even though the two companies didn’t have a relationship, and the developer eventually sued (1).

With such sophisticated documentation, it’s understandable why so many find it hard to tell the difference between genuine investment opportunities and fraudulent schemes. But there are a few warning signs everyone could watch out for before transferring their funds.

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Don’t fall for fraud: Tips to avoid Ponzi schemes

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Although that’s clichéd advice, it’s still worth keeping in mind when looking through investment opportunities.

Fraudulent investments often succeed because they’re carefully crafted to look safe and legitimate while offering above-average returns. One of the most common ways Ponzi schemes do this is by offering guaranteed or unusually consistent yields, like the 10% returns Drive Planning promised.

All investments carry some downside risk, but it’s generally higher when advertised rates of return are unusually high. If the projected yields are above what’s currently offered in conservative investments like high-yield savings accounts or Certificates of Deposit (CDs), be extra suspicious if there’s no mention of the volatility that comes along with that.

Transparency is essential when evaluating different investment platforms or partners. It shouldn’t be hard to find someone who claims to be a licensed financial professional. You can use a tool like Broker Check to look them up (4). Financial products for sale as investments can be found in databases like the federal government’s EDGAR (5). In general, investment firms shouldn’t hide how they make money in a bunch of vague and complex language.

Be extra wary if an investment firm emphasizes exclusivity or creates a sense of urgency, because these are common tactics to stop people from asking too many questions so they act on their emotions instead.

And remember that Ponzi schemes frequently target the elderly or people with ties to a religious or cultural group. Anyone in these categories needs to be extra skeptical about any potential investment opportunities they run across.

Since recovering money from a Ponzi scheme is difficult and slow, it’s best to avoid the issue upfront by asking plenty of direct questions and bringing in the help of trusted third parties like a neutral financial advisor before making big decisions.

And if you ever suspect investment fraud or have issues withdrawing funds, stop sending money right away and contact regulators like the FTC (6).

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Article Sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia (1); Federal Trade Commission (2, 6); Emory University (3); Broker Check (4); Investor.gov (5)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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