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Federal sentences reported in two unrelated fraud cases in Kentucky and Georgia

Court outcomes announced in August 2026 cover a former Kentucky police union officer and three former executives of a metro Atlanta investment firm, with outlets reporting differing sentence figures.

4 reports on this incident · first at Aug 13, 2026, 8:20 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 2:10 a.m. ET
Federal prosecutors have obtained sentences in two separate fraud cases, according to reporting published in August 2026. WKYT reported on 13 August 2026 that Kevin Ryan Straw, 40, of Lexington, was in a wire fraud case, and Atlanta News First and WSB Radio reported sentences for three former executives of the investment firm Drive Planning. The charges in the cases as described by the outlets include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and laundering proceeds of a Ponzi scheme. The sentences as reported differ between outlets and are given here as each outlet stated them. WKYT reported a sentence of . Atlanta News First reported that Todd Burkhalter, 55, received 20 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and nearly $234 million in restitution; that David Bradford, 53, described as Drive Planning's chief operating officer, received four years and three months in prison, three years of supervised release and nearly $4,298,000 in restitution; and that Julie Edwards, 59, described as the company's chief administrative officer, received two years in prison, three years of supervised release and $630,000 in restitution. WSB Radio reported the same prison terms and the nearly $234 million restitution figure for Burkhalter without the supervised-release details. Atlanta News First reported that 20 years in federal prison was the maximum sentence allowed by law. Accounts of the underlying conduct also differ, and are reported as each outlet described them. WKYT reported that prosecutors say that between 2021 and 2024 Straw used his positions as president of FOP Metropolitan Lodge 32 in Louisville and vice president and government affairs chair of the Kentucky State FOP to run three fraudulent schemes: defrauding at least 10 individuals of $80,340 under false investment pretenses; misappropriating $49,760 from Metro Lodge 32 through cash withdrawals falsely claimed to be transfers to another lodge account; and charging $15,501.48 in personal expenses to the Kentucky State FOP credit card while falsely requesting $41,562.97 in reimbursements for travel he never incurred. On the Georgia case, WSB Radio reported that prosecutors say Burkhalter, founder of metro Atlanta-based Drive Planning, lured more than 2,000 investors into sending millions for investments that did not exist, encouraging the use of retirement savings, college funds and high-interest loans, with investor money used to pay earlier investors and personal expenses including about $2 million for a yacht, $2.1 million toward a luxury condo in Mexico and $800,000 on luxury vehicles, and that investors lost about $380 million from 2020 through 2024. Atlanta News First reported prosecutors saying Burkhalter, as CEO of Alpharetta-based Drive Planning, tricked more than 2,000 investors out of approximately $380 million between 2020 and 2024 while promising a 10% return every three months, and that he and others continued soliciting tens of millions of dollars after the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating Drive Planning in early 2024. Atlanta News First identified the prosecuting office as the . Agencies named across the reporting as involved in the investigations are the FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 15, 2026, 1:44 a.m. ET

    Fraud sentences reported in separate wire fraud and investment cases

    Sentences have been imposed in fraud cases described in conflicting terms by two outlets, with no single account outweighing the other. WKYT reported on August 13, 2026 that Kevin Ryan Straw, 40, of Lexington, faced a charge of wire fraud. WSB Radio reported sentences for Todd Burkhalter, 55, founder of metro Atlanta-based Drive Planning, along with David Bradford and Julie Edwards.

    The terms imposed are reported differently. WKYT reported a sentence of 27 months in prison and $187,164.45 in restitution. WSB Radio reported that Burkhalter received 20 years in federal prison and nearly $234 million in restitution, that Bradford received four years and three months in prison, and that Edwards received two years.

    The conduct alleged is also described differently, and the two descriptions have not been reconciled. According to WKYT, federal prosecutors say that between 2021 and 2024 Straw used his positions as President of FOP Metropolitan Lodge 32 in Louisville and Vice President/Government Affairs Chair of the Kentucky State FOP to run three fraudulent schemes: defrauding at least 10 individuals of $80,340 under false investment pretenses; misappropriating $49,760 from Metro Lodge 32 through cash withdrawals falsely claimed to be transfers to another lodge account; and charging $15,501.48 in personal expenses to the Kentucky State FOP credit card, plus falsely requesting $41,562.97 in reimbursements for travel he never incurred.

    According to WSB Radio, prosecutors say Burkhalter lured more than 2,000 investors to send millions for investments that did not exist, encouraging the use of retirement savings, college funds and high-interest loans, with investor money used to pay earlier investors and personal expenses including about $2 million for a yacht, $2.1 million toward a luxury condo in Mexico and $800,000 on luxury vehicles. That outlet reported investors lost about $380 million from 2020 through 2024.

    The agencies named across the two reports as investigating are the FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office and the Louisville Metro Police Department.

  2. Aug 13, 2026, 8:22 p.m. ET

    Former Kentucky FOP official sentenced to 27 months in wire fraud case

    Kevin Ryan Straw, 40, of Lexington has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $187,164.45 in restitution in a wire fraud case, according to WKYT, which reported the sentence on Aug. 13, 2026.

    Straw held positions as President of FOP Metropolitan Lodge 32 in Louisville and Vice President and Government Affairs Chair of the Kentucky State FOP. Federal prosecutors said that between 2021 and 2024 he used those positions to run three fraudulent schemes: defrauding at least 10 individuals of $80,340 under false investment pretenses; misappropriating $49,760 from Metro Lodge 32 through cash withdrawals falsely claimed to be transfers to another lodge account; and charging $15,501.48 in personal expenses to the Kentucky State FOP credit card while falsely requesting $41,562.97 in reimbursements for travel he never incurred, WKYT reported.

    The case was investigated by the FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office and the Louisville Metro Police Department, according to WKYT. No statutory maximum penalty for the charge appears in the available record.

  3. Aug 13, 2026, 8:20 p.m. ETFirst report

    Former Kentucky FOP leader sentenced to 27 months in wire fraud case

    A former Fraternal Order of Police leader in Kentucky has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $187,164.45 in restitution on a wire fraud charge, WKYT reported on August 13, 2026.

    WKYT identified the defendant as Kevin Ryan Straw, 40, of Lexington. According to the outlet's report on the case, federal prosecutors said that between 2021 and 2024 Straw used his positions as president of FOP Metropolitan Lodge 32 in Louisville and vice president and government affairs chair of the Kentucky State FOP to run three fraudulent schemes.

    Prosecutors alleged, as reported by WKYT, that Straw defrauded at least 10 individuals of $80,340 under false investment pretenses; misappropriated $49,760 from Metro Lodge 32 through cash withdrawals falsely claimed to be transfers to another lodge account; and charged $15,501.48 in personal expenses to the Kentucky State FOP credit card while falsely requesting $41,562.97 in reimbursements for travel he never incurred.

    The FBI, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office and the Louisville Metro Police Department investigated the case, according to WKYT. The matter remains developing, and further details of the proceedings were not available in the material reviewed for this report.

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 05:44current

    First published.

  2. Version 114 Aug 2026, 00:20current

    First published.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 06:10current

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  4. Version 114 Aug 2026, 00:22current

    First published.

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