Christopher W. Burns was reported missing from his Berkeley Lake, Georgia, home after last being seen on September 24, 2020. That same day he was due to provide business documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and told his wife he was traveling to his parents’ house in North Carolina; his parents later said they were not expecting him and had not seen him. His car turned up abandoned in a Dunwoody parking lot with three cashier’s checks totaling more than $78,000 inside.

In the weeks after his disappearance federal and tax investigations into Burns became public. A federal arrest warrant for mail fraud was issued on October 23, 2020, and lawsuits alleged a Ponzi-style scheme in which investors were told loans were collateralized when the collateral was nonexistent or worth far less. Authorities say he solicited investments through a peer-to-peer lending program and that investors lost substantial sums. A federal grand jury later returned an indictment charging wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering and investigators say he is a fugitive.

Anyone who saw Christopher Burns, his vehicle in Dunwoody on or after September 24, 2020, or who has information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI.