Two Florida men indicted alongside former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon for fraud in ‘Build the Wall’ campaign

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced the indictments of four men for fraud stemming from an online campaign to raise money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Former Trump campaign CEO and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon along with Brian Kolfage of Miramar Beach, Andrew Badolato of Sarasota, and Timothy Shea from Castle Rock, CO were charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors through a crowdfunding campaign known as “We Build The Wall.”

READ: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon arrested, accused of defrauding donors

As early as 2019, the online campaign had drawn the attention of Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody as well as Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, with Fried’s consumer protection office opening an investigation into the group which raised more than $25 million dollars to build a wall along the southern border.

“As alleged, the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction,” said Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement. “While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle.”

READ: Who is Steve Bannon? Former Trump adviser indicted for fraud

The DOJ asserts that north Florida resident Brian Kolfage took for his personal use “more than $350,000 in funds that donors had given to We Build the Wall, while Bannon, through a non-profit organization under his control received over $1 million from We Build the Wall, at least some of which Bannon used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon’s personal expenses.”

READ: Ex-Trump strategist arrested in border wall fundraising scheme

All four men were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Cox Media Group