Two people who started an online fundraising plan to help former President Trump build a border wall were sentenced to jail Wednesday for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors as part of a fake scam.
Brain Kolfage and Andrew Badolato were sentenced for their alleged roles in the plan, which took money from hundreds of thousands of people who gave to their “We Build the Wall” campaign. The campaign told the donors that their money would be used to build a wall along the border with Mexico, which is one of Trump’s main campaign promises.
Court records show that the fundraising effort brought in more than $25,000,000 from thousands of people. Kolfage promised that “100% of the funds raised… will be used to carry out our mission and purpose.” In court papers, it was said that this was not true and that Kolfage took more than $350,000 for himself.
According to a news statement from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, Kolfage was given 51 months in jail and Badolato was given 36 months in prison. Kolfage and Badolato both pleaded guilty to one count of plot to commit wire fraud. Kolfage also pleaded guilty to tax and wire fraud charges.
“Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato took advantage of the trust of donors to We Build the Wall and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to fill their own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “The defendants are now being punished for what they did wrong.”
At the punishment, District Judge Analisa Torres also said, “Mr. Kolfage and Mr. Badolato’s scam went far beyond taking money from individual supporters. “They hurt all of us,” the statement said.
Kolfage was also sentenced to three years of controlled release, the return of $17,872,106, and the payment of reparations in the amount of $2,877,414 on top of his jail time. Badolato was given three years of controlled release and told to give up $1,414,368 and pay the same amount back as compensation.
Steve Bannon, who used to be Trump’s top political adviser, is also said to have been involved in the plan, but the case against him was stopped when Trump pardoned him. He is expected to go to court in November 2023 for his claimed role in the plan.
Timothy Shea, the third co-founder, was found guilty of plot to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of justice. He will be given his sentence on June 13.
