The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against Drive Planning LLC and its founder, Russell Todd Burkhalter, to halt an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme. According to ThinkAdvisor Burkhalter's scheme reportedly defrauded over 2,000 investors and funded his extravagant lifestyle.

According to the SEC, Burkhalter misappropriated investor funds to purchase luxury items, including a $3.1 million yacht, and made Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that between 2020 and June of this year, Burkhalter and Drive Planning raised more than $300 million under the guise of funding real estate development projects. The defendants promised investors 10 percent interest every three months and encouraged them to liquidate savings, tap into retirement accounts, or even open lines of credit to invest.

However, according to the SEC, Burkhalter and Drive Planning lacked any legitimate business capable of delivering such returns. Instead, they used new investor funds to pay previous investors, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. In addition to the yacht, Burkhalter allegedly spent $4.6 million on private jet charters and luxury car services and $2 million on a luxury condominium.

Financial Advisor Transitions consults advisors nationwide to explore employment transition options and to preserve and protect their practice in any transition that they make.