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NEW YORK — Brian Kolfage, the co-founder of a fundraising organization connected to Steve Bannon that pledged to aid in building a wall along the southern U.S. border, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from contributors. Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both legs and an arm in the Iraq War, had earlier pleaded guilty for his role in diverting donations from the We Build the Wall campaign.
Financier Andrew Badolato, a co-defendant, received a three-year sentence for assisting in the scheme, having also pleaded guilty. Tim Shea, a Colorado businessman and the third person involved in misappropriating funds from the wall project, will be sentenced in June.
Kolfage and Badolato were additionally ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to victims.
Bannon, Trump’s former chief political strategist, was initially arrested and faced federal fraud charges alongside the other men but was pardoned by Trump during his final hours in office. Bannon, who is awaiting trial on new state charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, has dismissed the case as “nonsense.”
Kolfage, Badolato, and Shea did not receive pardons from Trump and consequently faced the possibility of years in prison.
Prosecutors said Kolfage, who served as the public face of the effort, was the mastermind behind the scheme, which raised over $25 million from donors nationwide. Kolfage had repeatedly assured the public that he would not profit from the campaign.
Kolfage, 41, expressed remorse and humiliation to Judge Analisa Torres, admitting to breaking his promise not to benefit personally. Torres noted that the defendants had not only deceived their donors but also contributed to damaging the reputation of political fundraising, which could result in a “chilling effect on civic participation.”
Kolfage spent over $350,000 in donor funds on personal expenses, including boat payments, a luxury SUV, and cosmetic surgery, according to prosecutors. Bannon was accused of taking over $1 million through a separate nonprofit and then secretly paying some of it back to Kolfage.
Prosecutors also said that Badolato, 58, and Shea stole hundreds of thousands from fundraisers.
Kolfage and Badolato agreed not to challenge their sentences, which were within the agreed-upon range, as part of their plea deals. Kolfage’s attorney had previously argued that his client should avoid prison due to his lack of criminal history and severe disability.
We Build the Wall constructed some sections of the border barrier on private lands but is now defunct.
Source: Military Times
