Expand / Collapse search
☰

St. Petersburg business owner accused of pocketing more than $330 million in Ponzi scheme

By
Published  August 14, 2024 5:27pm EDT
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

Man accused of taking $330 million in Ponzi scheme

Investigators say St. Pete business owner Russell Todd Burkhalter, the founder and CEO of Drive Planning, stole more than $300 million from 2,000 investors across 48 states in a four-year period.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg business owner is under investigation after reportedly orchestrating "a classic Ponzi scheme," according to federal investigators.

Russell Todd Burkhalter is the founder and CEO of Drive Planning, a Georgia-based financial consulting firm that lists an office in St. Petersburg.

According to investigators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Burkhalter encouraged people to invest in his real estate opportunity, promising a 10% return every three months.

Russell Todd Burkhalter is accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme.

"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," Nekia Hackworth Jones, Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, said in a statement Wednesday.

READ: Couple followed home from Hard Rock Casino, ambushed, shot after hitting jackpot

From 2020 to May of this year, Burkhalter raised more than $330 million from over 2,000 investors, according to court documents. $66.9 million of that amount came from retirement accounts.

Burkhalter is accused of using the money he raised to support is lavish lifestyle.

"Overall, it's one of the larger Ponzi schemes, I'd say," Miami attorney Jeffrey Sonn, who’s representing investors across four states in this case, told FOX 13.

According to court records filed in Georgia on Tuesday, Burkhalter is also accused of stealing these investor funds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including spending $3 million on a yacht, $4.6 million on private jets and luxury car services, and over $2 million for a condo near the water in St. Petersburg, according to Pinellas County property records.

A photo of the yacht was included in the SEC’s complaint.

"They're angry," Sonn said of the investors he’s representing. "That's their money that was used."

The SEC announced on Wednesday it will be freezing Burkhalter and Drive Planning’s assets.

We’ve reached out to Burkhalter and Drive Planning and will let you know when we hear back.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: