Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato plead guilty to “We Build the Wall” fraud

Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Kolfage also pleaded guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud in connection with filing a false tax return.
“I knew what I was doing was wrong and a crime,” Kolfage told the judge. The two men will be sentenced on September 6.
Timothy Shea, a fourth man charged in the fundraising effort, has pleaded not guilty. Last month he told the judge he would plead guilty, but changed his mind and is due to stand trial next month.
Bannon and Kolfage promised donors that the campaign, which ultimately raised more than $25 million, was “a voluntary organization” and that “100% of the funds raised…will be used in carrying out our mission and our goal,” according to the indictment.
But instead, prosecutors say, Bannon, through a nonprofit under his control, used more than $1 million from We Build the Wall to “secretly” pay Kolfage and cover up. hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon’s personal expenses.
Kolfage, according to the charges, spent more than $350,000 of the donations on personal expenses, including cosmetic surgery, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, payments for a boat, home renovations, jewelry, payments personal taxes and credit card debt.