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.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 2:10 a.m. ET
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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.
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