THOUSANDS of people who donated to Steve Bannon's We Build The Wall fundraising efforts say they were swindled, according to prosecutors.
Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, was arrested along with three others in relation to the allegations of fraud made on behalf of the individuals who gave donations.
When was Steve Bannon arrested?
On August 20, 2020, former political advisor to Trump, Steve Bannon, was arrested.
The Attorney’s Office – Southern District of New York confirmed that Bannon was arrested that Thursday morning for defrauding donors in a border wall scheme.
Police officials apprehended him along with Brian Kolfage, Andred Badolato, and Timothy Shea, who were also charged in connection with the fraud claims.
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What is the ‘We Build the Wall’ GoFundMe campaign and how is Steven Bannon involved?
What was Steve Bannon charged with?
Bannon and the four aforementioned individuals were indicted for illegally funneling funds.
The four were busted on charges stemming from claims they ripped off donors to the We Build The Wall online fundraising scheme.
Bannon and three others "orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors,” federal prosecutors alleged.
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"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," Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss said 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."
However, on January 20, 2021, for one of his last acts as president, Trump pardoned Bannon before he departed the White House and absolved him of the charges.
Is Steve Bannon going to jail?
While Bannon might have been issued a pardon for the charges related to the We Build the Wall campaign, he found himself back in court in 2022 after he disobeyed a subpoena from the House committee during their investigation into the January 6 Capitol Riots.
In that case, he was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months behind bars on October 21, 2022, according to The New York Times.
While he might have been sentenced to four months behind bars, he will remain free pending his appeal, The New York Times notes.
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