Enforcement News: Former Chief Operating Officer and Former Managing Partner Charged with Participating in An Alleged $300 Million Ponzi Scheme

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Posted on: Jan 7 2026

This Blog has written about Ponzi schemes on numerous occasions.[1] A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment fraud where returns to earlier investors are paid using investment capital from new or existing investors, rather than from legitimate profits earned through the enterprise’s business activities. Ponzi schemes persist by exploiting trust, promising high returns with little risk, and using money from new or existing investors to pay “profits” to earlier ones.

In today’s article, we examine an enforcement action brought by the SEC against David J. Bradford (“Defendant B”) and Gerardo L. Linarducci (“Defendant L” and together with Defendant B, the “Defendants”).

The SEC brought the action Defendant B, the former Chief Operating Officer of Drive Planning, LLC (“Drive Planning”), and Defendant L, the former Managing Partner of Drive Planning and head of its Indiana branch office, for their roles in an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme related to Drive Planning’s “Real Estate Acceleration Loans” program. The SEC previously obtained a preliminary injunction, asset freeze, and other emergency relief pursuant to an emergency action against Drive Planning and its founder and CEO, Russell Todd Burkhalter, in connection with the alleged scheme. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Defendant B consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval.

According to the SEC, from 2020 through at least June 2024, Burkhalter ran a Ponzi scheme through Drive Planning, selling unregistered securities in the form of “Real Estate Acceleration Loans” (“REAL”), which Burkhalter described in promotional materials as a “bridge loan opportunity promising 10% in 3 months.”

Defendants allegedly encouraged people to tap their savings, their IRAs, and even lines of credit, to invest in REAL. According to the SEC, as of early May 2024, the alleged scheme was receiving applications for over one million dollars every day, driven by an organization of more than 100 sales agents.

According to the SEC, Defendants and the sales agents they trained falsely told REAL investors that Drive Planning pooled REAL investments and loaned that money out to property developers and/or used it to enter joint ventures with property developers, thereby earning the profits necessary to pay returns to REAL investors.

In fact, said the SEC, Drive Planning did not have a legitimate profitable enterprise capable of generating the sums necessary to pay the promised 10 percent returns every three months. Instead, the SEC alleged that, “in classic Ponzi fashion, Burkhalter used money from new investors to pay the supposed ‘returns’ to existing investors and to maintain a luxurious lifestyle.”

As of August 2024, when the SEC obtained emergency relief from the Court to stop the alleged fraud, over 2,000 investors had invested more than $300 million in the alleged scheme.

According to the SEC, each Defendant played a crucial role in perpetrating the alleged Ponzi scheme. Each Defendant served as a senior executive in Drive Planning’s Indiana branch office, along with Burkhalter.

In furtherance of the alleged Ponzi scheme, among other things, Defendants solicited investors in REAL; managed teams of sales agents who sold the investment; appeared in videos and social media posts promoting Drive Planning’s business; and conducted training sessions for agents to boost investments in REAL.

In connection with their sales of REAL, Defendants allegedly told investors, among other things, that the promised 10% rate of return was guaranteed; investors held an interest in underlying collateral as part of their investment; Drive Planning partnered with real estate developers in profit-sharing agreements; and profits from those partnerships funded the promised return to REAL investors.

According to the SEC, these representations were false. The SEC claimed that Defendants allegedly knew they were false or were, at least, severely reckless in making the statements.

The SEC alleged that, in truth, Drive Planning did not generate significant profits from real estate deals. Instead, said the SEC, the company used most of the investor funds to pay fictitious returns to other investors, support Burkhalter’s extravagant lifestyle, and pay millions of dollars in compensation to Defendants and the sales agents they oversaw.

According to the SEC’s complaint, each Defendant played an integral role in fueling the alleged REAL fraud. The SEC alleged that Drive Planning’s records showed that (a) Defendant B sold more than $35 million in REAL investments and his sales team sold more than $100 million, and (b) Defendant L sold more than $13 million in REAL investments and his sales team sold more than $30 million.

The SEC said that Defendants received millions of dollars in compensation for selling REAL investments. Between 2020 and 2024, Drive Planning paid Defendant B approximately $26 million in total compensation. Between 2022 and 2024, Drive Planning paid Defendant L $7.5 million in total compensation.

By engaging in the conduct described in the complaint, the SEC alleged that Defendants violated Sections 5(a), 5(c), 17(a)(l), 17(a)(2), and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a), 77e(c), 77q(a)(l), 77q(a)(2), and 77q(a)(3)]; Sections l0(b) and 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b), 78o(a)]; and Rules 10b-5(a), (b), and (c) thereunder [17 C.F.R. §§ 240.10b-5(a), (b), and (c)].

The SEC also alleged that Defendant L aided and abetted Burkhalter’s and Drive Planning’s alleged violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)], Section l0(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)], and Rules 10b-5(a), (b), and (c) thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5(a), (b), and (c)].

The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Defendants. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Defendant B consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, in which he agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities law and from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, except for purchases or sales in his personal accounts, and agreed that that court will order him to pay disgorgement with prejudgment interest and a civil penalty in an amount to be determined by the court upon motion by the SEC.

A copy of the litigation release announcing the filing of the complaint can be found here.

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Jeffrey M. Haber is a partner and co-founder of Freiberger Haber LLP. This article is for informational purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

[1] To find such articles, please visit the Blog tile on our website and search for “Ponzi schemes” or any SEC enforcement action issue that may be of interest to you.

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