Steve Bannon arrested, three others charged with fraud in border wall fundraising campaign

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CNN 8/20/20

Steve Bannon, three others charged with fraud in border wall fundraising campaign

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New York federal prosecutors on Thursday charged President Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon and three others with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump's border wall.

Bannon, 66, was arrested on a boat Thursday off the Eastern coast of Connecticut by federal agents along with officials from the United States Postal Inspection Service, according to the agency and a law enforcement official. He will make his initial court appearance in New York later Thursday, according to the US attorney's office. Bill Burck, an attorney for Bannon, declined to comment.

The four men are indicted for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to an online crowdfunding campaign called We Build the Wall for personal expenses, among other things. Bannon and another defendant, Brian Kolfage, promised donors that the campaign, which ultimately raised more than $25 million, was "a volunteer organization" and that "100% of the funds raised...will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose," according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/bannon-build-the-wall-indictment/index.html

Fox news

Steve Bannon, Brian Kolfage, others indicted: Read the charging documents

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/steve-bannon-brian-kolfage-indicted-charging-documents

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We're sure to hear that Trump barely knew him...

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/flashback/video/trump-praises-bannon-after-ousting-1028324419648

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NY Times 8/20/20

How Bannon and His Indicted Business Partners Cashed In on Trump

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...They came together early last year with a cherished project — building Mr. Trump’s long-promised, long-stalled border wall — and influential supporters to promote it, including Stephen K. Bannon, an architect of Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory and a former White House strategist. Together, the four men pitched We Build the Wall as a way for Americans worried about border security to do an end run around Congress and construct at least 100 miles of barriers with private money.

But according to a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday, the men swindled donors, treating the more than $25 million they raised as a private piggy bank. Mr. Bannon, through an unnamed nonprofit organization, received more than $1 million from the group, according to the court documents. Mr. Kolfage got a total of $350,000 that he spent on “home renovations, payments toward a boat, a luxury S.U.V., a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments and credit card debt,” the indictment claimed. The others collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal expenses, prosecutors said. Mr. Bannon pleaded not guilty in the case.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/us/politics/bannon-we-build-the-wall.html

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1 hour ago, NRSKarenRN said:

My guess is that those speakers for the event were paid handsomely for their time and words of encouragement. LOL

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