The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Russell Todd Burkhalter and his firm, Drive Planning LLC, accusing them of operating a “classic Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors out of $300 million. The SEC alleges that the scheme funneled substantial sums into Burkhalter’s lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a yacht and a luxury condo.
SEC Alleges Ponzi Scheme and Asset Misuse
According to the SEC’s complaint, Burkhalter and Drive Planning promised investors substantial returns from real estate deals, claiming that their investments would generate 10% returns every three months. However, the SEC argues that these promises were empty, as the firm failed to secure enough legitimate business to fulfill the returns. Instead, the SEC claims the firm operated as a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors.
“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,” said Nekia Hackworth Jones, head of the SEC’s Atlanta regional office, in a statement.
SEC russell todd lawsuit : Asset Freeze and Receivership
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert granted the SEC’s request for a preliminary injunction to freeze the assets of Burkhalter and Drive Planning. The judge also placed the company into receivership to protect the remaining assets, which the SEC claims still owe more than $200 million to around 2,500 investors.
