Brian Kolfage, an Iraq War veteran who launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to build a private border wall, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges after prosecutors say he took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the campaign.
Before launching We build the wall, Kolfage was banned from Facebook after peddling right-wing misinformation on social media. In a letter filed in the federal Southern District of New York, federal prosecutors said that in addition to the attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges, Kolfage also agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of lying on his 2019 taxes.
According to prosecutors, Kolfage first claimed to have earned $63,574 that year and then filed a correction claiming $300,000, but officials claimed his income for that year was in excess of that amount.
The organization arranged a scheme in which he secretly took more than $350,000 from the donations, despite the fact that he wouldn't earn a penny in salary or compensation.
Steve Bannon, a top aide to former president Donald Trump, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the indictment, at least $1 million was received from the supposed nonprofit. In the final hours of his presidency, Trump pardoned Bannon.
The campaign to build a wall along the southern border raised more than 25 million dollars on GoFundMe, which was supposed to be a private effort to assist the Trump administration.
The effort immediately raised questions, including about the man who had launched other efforts but left a trail of people who said they never received promised donations.
The raised money was supposed to be used to build a wall on private land. The organization launched two building efforts with a North Dakota-based company.
Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, a former Fox News personality, made an appearance and spoke to supporters during a days-long fundraiser in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
The former secretary of state of Kansas and a former sheriff of Milwaukee County served on the board of directors of We Build the Wall. At one point, it was claimed that the founder of Blackwater was handling security for the construction sites.
A militant group that claimed to work security for a New Mexico construction site was attracted by the group.
The founder of the Oath Keepers militant group, who is facing seditious conspiracy charges for the Capitol attack, got a personal tour of one of the projects.
He claimed to have direct access to the Trump White House, but refused to provide details about his visit. His wife posted pictures of their children at the event.
The Trump administration distanced themselves from the veteran after he was indicted.
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