Co-founder of project to raise money for US-Mexico wall pleads guilty in case that once included Trump’s adviser Steve Bannon
Highlights
- Brian Kolfage admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars while promising all donations would pay for the wall.
- Co-founder of the “We Build The Wall’s Wall” group raised more than $25m from thousands of donors as they repeatedly pledged that every dollar would be used for the project.
- Andrew Badolato, 57, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and tax charges brought originally in Florida.
- Without the plea deal, the defendants could have faced a maximum punishment of 46 years in prison.
- The case began in dramatic fashion in August 2020, when Steve Bannon was pulled from a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut and arrested.