Accused financial scammer Christopher Burns has been missing for over two years. For the first time, his son speaks out and pleads with his father to face his alleged crimes.
It was September 2020, and the then-15-year-old was telling his dad—a former youth pastor turned financial advisor and locally-known Georgia radio host—about his upcoming job search. But his father, Chris Burns, ended the conversation cryptically.
“I have [had] to rethink my entire life. He was my role model,” Philip said. “It hurts so much that he left that day. I believe he is still out there somewhere…but [he] is not a part of our family and our lives anymore.”For almost three years, authorities have been peeling back the layers on Burns’ alleged years-long scheme.
The indictment also notes that Burns promised collateral that “either did not exist at all or was worth substantially less than he represented.” In all, the SEC complaint states, Burns sold at least 70 promissory notes to dozens of investors in Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. “The cat-and-mouse game of fugitive hunting is an exercise in patience,” former veteran FBI special agent Terry Rankhorn told The Daily Beast. “Anyone can evade law enforcement, but only for a time. The only thing he is accomplishing is depleting his funds and making things harder on his family.”
By that time, Meredith said, she had moved from their Atlanta suburban home to Indiana to attend Taylor University. She noted that while she was initially hesitant to date Burns, who was still in high school at the time, she eventually gave in. “He got me into theater…and he would sword fight with me and my brother with our little Nerf swords,” the 19-year-old said. “We would have tickle monster fights. He helped us sell lemonade sometimes.”“I got pregnant six months into being married and we were both in school,” Meredith said.Around this time, Meredith said, Burns has transitioned from his theology work to finance—firstly as a life insurance salesman before eventually joining a financial firm.
Powered by his company, Dynamic Money, the show’s description noted that Burns set out every episode to “unpack how this week’s headlines practically impact your life, wallet, and future.” Burns would also appear periodically on television, where he would discuss finances and politics.
One Sunday morning in November 2017, her husband, Norman, was on his way to go hunting when he came across “The Chris Burns Show” and was “immediately impressed” by its investing expertise. The class action lawsuit states that at the time, Susan and her husband were in the market for a “trustworthy financial professor to help him plan for retirement” and were elated to find Burns.“He was my role model,” his son Philip said. “It hurts so much that he left that day.
“Investors in the fraudulent investing program have not received any payments from Burns or any other defendants since September 2020,” the SEC complaint states.There were warning signs in the days leading up to Burns’ disappearance. The day before he went missing, on Sept. 24, Burns entered into a divorce agreement with Meredith. As part of the agreement, the SEC complaint states, many of their joint assets were transferred to her—including their boat and home.
Prosecutors and the SEC state that instead of putting his clients’ multi-millions into investment funds, Burns used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle and continue to promote his business.As the realization hit her, she fell to her knees in the driveway, where her teenage son found her and they decided to call the police.“I thought so too,” the teenager added.
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