Georgia Republican gets 20 years over Ponzi scheme

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports a Republican candidate for local city council got sentenced after running what prosecutors described as “Georgia’s largest Ponzi scheme.”

U.S. District Judge Tiffany Johnson sentenced Todd Burkhalter, 55, to 20 years in prison on Friday after he plead guilty to wire fraud. Burkhalter is primarily responsible for defrauding more than 2,000 investors out of around $380 million through his Alpharetta investment firm, Drive Planning, according to federal prosecutors.

His company, which is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since 2024, is now in receivership, reports the AJC.

At his sentencing, Judge Johnson said many investors lost their retirement savings and children’s college funds, and others had to remortgage their homes because of Burkhalter’s scheme.

“It was almost difficult to physically read all the victim impact statements in this case, because there were so many people who were devastated,” the judge said. She then noted that Burkhalter used investors’ money to “buy jets, diamonds, luxury cars, a ranch, a condo in Mexico and more than $300,000 in clothing, among other things.”

“Though prosecutors recommended Burkhalter be sentenced to 17½ years in prison, Johnson said his conduct warranted 20 years, the maximum term she could impose,” reports AJC. “She said the investors who were scammed will probably never get all their money back.”

Burkhalter was also ordered to pay $233.7 million in restitution to the victims. He will be subject to supervision for three years after he completes his prison sentence.

In 2015, Burkhalter entered the race for the Johns Creek City Council’s Post 2 seat. At the time, Burkhalter said his campaign platform focused on open government, “direct and blunt communication” with voters and “good stewardship” of city tax dollars.

“Far too many politicians run for office with promises of never raising taxes yet somehow our taxes continue to go up,” said Burkhalter. “I will speak bluntly with citizens and not engage in political word games to deceive voters. A fee increase is a tax increase - I will oppose all tax and fee increases on the residents of Johns Creek. I love this city and I love the people. This is where my wife and I will retire. I will always be honest with you. You may not always agree, but you will know I’m always shooting straight.”

That year, Burkhalter lost his race to candidate Jay Lin, who won with 59 percent of the vote.

“He knew from its inception that it was all a sham,” prosecutor Kelly Connors said at the time of Burkhalter’s Friday sentencing. “There was never a point where this was somehow legitimate conduct that went astray. Mr. Burkhalter was calculated, and he was ruthless.”

The AJC reports two investors who lost money in the scheme spoke in court without entering their names into the record. One of the investors said she put most of her Social Security and life insurance money into Drive Planning after her husband died, hoping to get a little money back to live on.

She said she now relies on her adult daughter for financial support.