Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is being accused of orchestrating a scheme around an online crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall,” and using it as a personal piggy bank, prosecutors said. The charges against Bannon were filed in a Maryland federal court on Wednesday, September 7, and include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Brian Kolfage, founder and president of We Build the Wall, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea are also named in the indictment. They supposedly used sham accounts and invoices to cover up their scheme.
The 64-year-old political operative allegedly used donors’ money to pay for expenses including private jets and travel accommodations for himself and his family, according to an indictment from U.S. Attorney William McSwain’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Between 2010 and 2016, Bannon also allegedly paid $150,000 for personal expenses at casinos in:
- Los Angeles;
- Washington D.C.;
- Las Vegas;
- Jupiter, Florida;
- New York City;
- Beverly Hills;
- And Macau, China.
He supposedly spent the money without disclosing those expenditures or consulting with GAI’s board members about them.
Bannon’s alleged scheme, which began in 2013, was designed to defraud investors of more than $10 million. According to prosecutors, the former President Trump adviser and Breitbart News chairman used the funds for personal expenses instead of building a wall on the U.S./Mexico border as he had promised donors.
He also allegedly tried to cover up his actions by making false statements about his involvement in We Build the Wall Inc., which was set up as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that could receive unlimited donations without disclosing its donors’ identities or using their funds for partisan political purposes (c)(4) organizations can do so).
Wire fraud is a federal crime, as is conspiring to commit wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Bannon with both charges, alleging that he used donors’ money to pay personal expenses and then tried to cover it up by falsifying records with the IRS.
Money laundering is also a federal crime — and it’s serious business! It involves taking money from criminal activities and making it appear legitimate in order to use or spend it without raising suspicion. In other words, if someone is caught doing this they could face jail time for both crimes!
Before leaving office, former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon on all federal crimes in this case. However, that does not include state charges.
On July 22, 2022, Bannon was found guilty of one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Bannon is expected to turn himself into New York authorities tomorrow.
If anyone contributed to We Build the Wall, they may be entitled to a refund. If they donated between Sept. 1, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2019, and have not received a full refund from Bannon or his company, please contact [email protected] immediately so the claims for reimbursement can be reviewed.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Chicago Tribune: Men charged with former White House strategist Steve Bannon had a history of cashing in on the Trump movement
NPR: Steve Bannon faces fraud charges in New York over the We Build the Wall charity
National Review: New York’s Bannon Indictment: Is Politicized Prosecution the Tonic for Pardon Abuse?
Justice: Stephen K. Bannon Found Guilty by Jury of Two Counts of Contempt of Congress
Images Courtesy of Gage Skidmore‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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