The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a preliminary injunction, asset freeze, and other emergency relief against Atlanta-based Drive Planning LLC and its founder and CEO, high-profile investor and author Todd Burkhalter, charging the defendants with running a real estate Ponzi scheme.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Drive Planning and Burkhalter raised more than $300 million for purported real estate investments from 2020 through at least June 2024. Investors were told their money would be used to fund land development projects, with the promise if 10% interest every three months. Investors were encouraged to put up their savings and retirement account funds, and even open lines of credit to invest. More than 2,000 investors were attracted to Drive Planning and Burkhalter.
The SEC said the defendants used investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments while Burkhalter siphoned investor funds to finance a luxurious lifestyle that included the purchase of a $3.1 million yacht, $2 million condo, and spending $4.6 million on chartering private jets and luxury car services.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, charged Drive Planning and Burkhalter with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. In addition to the emergency relief granted by the court, which the defendants did not oppose, the SEC announced it “seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against the defendants, and an officer-and-director bar against Burkhalter.”
The complaint also named Jacqueline Burkhalter, Burkhalter’s spouse, and several related entities as relief defendants. Additionally, a receiver was appointed over Drive Planning.
“Drive Planning and Burkhalter gained the trust of everyday people and encouraged them to invest in this scheme by promising exorbitant returns, but as our complaint alleges, the defendants’ business was nothing more than a classic Ponzi scheme, using new investor money to pay returns to existing investors, with Burkhalter stealing millions to fund a lavish lifestyle,” said Nekia Hackworth Jones, director of the SEC’s Atlanta regional office. “Investors should be vigilant when they encounter aggressive sellers who make over-the-top sales pitches and promise high rates of guaranteed returns.”
Photo courtesy Todd Burkhalter’s Instagram page
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Should be given a death sentence!
It is disgraceful. Hope criminal charges are brought against him once they prove it.