Steve Bannon's associate gets four years for Trump border wall fraud
Former president Donald Trump's border wall was used by an associate of his former campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, to fraudulently raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for himself. That associate has now been handed a four-year prison sentence.
Brian Kolfage, a veteran of the United States Air Force, reportedly admitted to conspiring to defraud those who contributed to an online campaign to build a wall along the border of Mexico. Bannon, who also served as a White House strategist under Trump, received a presidential pardon by Trump after being charged in connection with the same case, according to the Guardian.
"Bannon remains a prominent presence in far-right media and politics. In September, he was indicted in New York state court in Manhattan on money laundering and conspiracy charges over the planned wall," the outlet reported. "He pleaded not guilty. Trump’s pardon of Bannon covered federal crimes but not alleged state crimes."
The Guardian further said that Kolfage, who lost his legs and a hand in Iraq, pleaded guilty last year in the federal case to misappropriating money meant for the "We Build the Wall campaign."
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"On Wednesday a US district judge, Analisa Torres, announced the 51-month sentence at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan," the Guardian wrote.
In 2021, it was reported that the the embattled "We Build the Wall" group admitted it couldn't pay lawyer fees despite raising millions of dollars.
Another former Bannon associate, Andrew Badolato, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to the Guardian's article.