Former Financial Advisory Group Executive Pleads Guilty to $4 Million Ponzi Scheme

ATLANTA – David Bradford, the former Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia-based financial advisory group Drive Planning LLC (“Drive Planning”), pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud arising from a multi-year Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.

“Bradford betrayed the trust of his clients, family, and friends by encouraging them to make millions in bogus investments,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and aggressively prosecute all forms of investment fraud.”

“Justice is served in this latest reminder of the significant impact white collar crime continues to have on everyday Americans,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is aggressively pursuing fraud and will continue to ensure crime does not pay in the end. If you steal from others, you are gambling with your freedom.”

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: from late 2021 until in or about June 2024, Drive Planning marketed several investments, including the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund,” or “CORE Fund,” as “easy and simple,” advising prospective investors that the fund provided “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens.” Drive Planning guaranteed investors a return of 10% every six months or a 22% return per year for up to three years. Drive Planning further materially misrepresented that investors’ contributions to the CORE Fund were pooled together, government-protected, and fully collateralized. As part of the scheme, Bradford created a marketing brochure to promote the CORE Fund, which was shared with Drive Planning’s sales agents to solicit investors. 

In actuality, the investors’ monies were being used for other purposes, including to pay off other Drive Planning investors, make commission payments to Drive Planning’s agents, and pay for personal expenditures. Bradford and others at Drive Planning further concealed the scheme to defraud by failing to disclose that Drive Planning did not invest any funds in the CORE Fund after approximately December 9, 2022. To the contrary, even after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating Drive Planning in approximately March 2024, Bradford and others continued to solicit investments for the CORE Fund. In total, Drive Planning received at least $4.1 million from CORE Fund investors.

In August 2024, the SEC obtained a temporary restraining order against Drive Planning and filed separate civil enforcement actions against Drive Planning and others in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia related to the above-described scheme. 

Sentencing for David Bradford, 53, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, is scheduled for March 17, 2026 at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Assistant United States Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.