Georgia executives handed light sentence for role in historic $380M Ponzi scheme: I was a coward

Two conspiring financial group executives who conned thousands of victims in the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history were handed light prison sentences — as one con man declared he was a “coward” for the heartless crimes.Ex-Drive Planning Chief Operating Officer David Bradford and Chief Administrative Officer Julie Edwards helped CEO Todd Burkholter orchestrate a plot that defrauded over 2,000 investors out of $380 million to help fund their lavish lifestyles.Bradford and Edwards were sentenced to measly four years and two years behind bars for their roles in the nefarious ruse that spanned several years, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.The company, now in receivership, marketed several investment opportunities for prospective investors, including “Real Estate Acceleration Loan” opportunity (“REAL”) and the “Cash Out Real Estate Fund” (“CORE Fund”).The executives told their targets that the CORE Fund provided “100% Passive Income from Tax Liens” while guaranteeing a return of 10% every six months or a 22% return per year for up to three years, federal prosecutors said.Drive Planning executives never told investors that money received from the CORE Fund after December 9, 2022, wasn’t invested as they claimed they would.Bradford, a 53-year-old pastor and father of six, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $4 million case.He claimed he was remorseful for his crimes and acknowledged that he had hurt his victims during his sentencing hearing Wednesday.“I was a coward,” Bradford said in court, according to the outlet.“I participated in that fraud and I benefited from it, and there’s no excuse for what I did.

I deceived myself and, in turn, I deceived the people who trusted me.”US District Court Judge Tiffany Johnson, who handed down the four-year prison term, accepted Bradford’s remorsefulness but also said he had defrauded thousands of people, including a large number he had met at chu...