Hancock County man sues company tied to Ponzi scheme; FBI seeking other investors

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — A Hancock County man has sued a Georgia-based investment firm after he says they scammed him out of almost $50,000 as part of a $300 million Ponzi scheme, and the FBI is seeking answers.

Bryan Burney’s lawsuit, filed on Aug. 15, claims that Drive Planning LLC. contacted him in May 2024 to “induce” him to invest in the firm’s “REAL Plan.”

The REAL Plan was described as the “Real Estate Acceleration Loan,” a type of loan “that real estate developers can get to help them finish up projects they’re already working on, or to fund new projects they want to start.”

As part of the investment, Drive Planning claimed to have “guaranteed a 10% return on investments, to be paid after a period of three months.”

The lawsuit claims instead that Drive Planning, which had an office in Fishers, did not have “any legitimate profitable enterprise” and the firm’s owner Russell Burkhalter used any new investment money to pay returns to existing investors.

Burney says he loaned Drive Planning a total of $48,549.70 on the terms of the REAL Plan, and was promised to receive the 10% repayment by Aug. 15.

But on July 23, the lawsuit says Burkhalter emailed Burney to say that Drive Planning would not be repaying him the money owed on their contract.

Burney claims that by failing to repay the outstanding balance, “Drive Planning is in breach of contract” and has caused damages.

The lawsuit says Burney is entitled to the return of his money, including interest accrued, repayment for any attorney fees, costs of the lawsuit, travel expenses, and more.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Atlanta opened an investigation into Drive Planning. Any investors or anyone with information on the firm relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the FBI or fill out a form on their website.