The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to return $200,000 the team received to promote a company that engaged in an alleged Ponzi scheme.
In August 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Drive Planning, LLC in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia. The SEC claims Drive Planning engaged in a Ponzi scheme selling real estate loans from 2020 to 2024 that raised more than $300 million, made false promises to its more than 2,000 investors, and funded a lavish lifestyle with multimillion-dollar purchases on private jet charters and luxury car services, a yacht, and a condo for its founder and CEO Russell Todd Burkhalter. The SEC says Drive Planning didn’t operate a business that could meet the 10% returns it promised investors every three months. The company was based in Georgia, but Burkhalter is a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Rays play.
During the time Burkhalter was running the alleged scheme, Drive Planning began marketing with the Rays. Photos Burkhalter posted to social media in May and June of 2024 show advertisements for Drive Planning around Tropicana Field and directly behind home plate—the most coveted spot for TV and replays.
The court is currently recovering funds from Drive Planning through a process called receivership. For some legal cases, someone is appointed as a neutral “receiver” to act as an extension of the court and recoup all assets and funds involved in the lawsuit until the case wraps.
While investigating Drive Planning’s financial records, the receiver found the company had paid $400,000 to the Rays. The team first received $200,000, and in exchange, it marketed and promoted Drive Planning. But the Rays received the second $200,000 on the same date the SEC filed its complaint, the receiver’s motion says. The receiver and the Rays settled to return that second $200,000, which the motion describes as “100% of the amount [the Rays] received from Drive Planning for which no marketing services were provided.”
The receiver filed his motion and the settlement agreement Monday, which the judge granted and approved Tuesday.
Spokespeople for the Rays and the SEC declined to comment. An attorney for Burkhalter did not immediately respond.
The Rays’ Tropicana Field was badly damaged during Hurricane Milton in October. The storm destroyed most of the stadium’s roof, so the team will move to the Yankees’ spring training ballpark, George M. Steinbrenner Field, for the 2025 season. The relinquished $200,000 doesn’t help the team’s financial situation—initial estimates put repair costs to the stadium at $55.7 million. Still, the Rays are optimistic about returning to the ballpark in 2026.
The Rays weren’t the only sports entity that took money from Drive Planning. Seventeen-year-old Elliot Cox of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development, which competes in junior level auto races, drove in a car and racing suit completely sponsored by Drive Planning.
