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2020-08-20 -Lurid Crime Tales-
Ex-Trump Adviser Steve Bannon Arrested and Charged With Fraud in Mexico Wall Fundraising Scheme
[Yahoo Finance] Steve Bannon, a former top strategist for President Trump, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with fraud for his role in the "We Build the Wall" crowdfunding effort.

According to federal prosecutors, Bannon and three other men involved in the fundraising project ‐ claiming to collect money to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border ‐ defrauded "hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as ‘We Build the Wall' that raised more than $25 million."

Bannon specifically received over $1 million from We Build the Wall, at least some of which he used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, according to the indictment against him.

Bannon was dismissed from his role as chief strategist at the White House in August 2018, part of a house cleaning under new chief of staff John Kelly. Bannon, a former producer and documentary filmmaker, was executive chairman at Breitbart News Network before Trump tapped him to serve as his campaign CEO in August of 2016.

Bannon and the three other defendants were arrested Thursday morning, prosecutors said.

Courtesy of Skidmark:
Donald Trump's former aide Steven Bannon is arrested and INDICTED over 'ripping off $25 million crowd-funded border wall scheme to pay for his and its co-founders' lavish lifestyles of boats and private jets' - and could face 40 YEARS in prison
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Steve Bannon, once Donald Trump's most trusted aide, is arrested and due in court accused of being part of massive fraud scheme

  • He is alleged to have ripped off the We Build The Wall scheme which planned to build a crowd-sourced border wall

  • They raised money claiming the idea was 'Trump approved' and took in $20 million on GoFundMe before being kicked off the platform, then $5m more

  • 'Non-profit' told hundreds of thousands of donors the people behind it were volunteers but secretly were being paid, feds say

  • Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say he helped run scheme which funneled donations to its co-founders

  • Some of the cash has built sections of wall but millions have not

  • Bannon received $1 million and kept hundreds of thousands for his personal expenses

  • Massive amounts of cash went to Brian Kolfage, the triple amputee co-founder who prosecutors say spent it on his lavish lifestyle

  • Kolfage used the money he received on home renovations, boat payments, an SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, tax and credit card debt

  • His wife Ashley received cash too and posted on instagram about their lifestyle

Steve Bannon, 'We Build the Wall' organizers arrested, charged with defrauding donors
[FoxNews] Prosecutors say Bannon and the others used the nonprofit and a shell company to hide the payments to Kolfage “by using fake invoices and sham ‘vendor’ arrangements,” as well as other means of keeping the payments quiet. The indictment stated that in order to raise funds, Kolfage and Bannon “repeatedly and falsely” told the public that Kolfage would “not take a penny” in compensation.
Posted by Frank G 2020-08-20 10:22|| || Front Page|| [11141 views ]  Top

#1 My first inclination is to suspect this is just another lawfare maneuver against Trump World, rather like the New York lawsuit to disband the NRA.
Posted by SteveS 2020-08-20 10:53||   2020-08-20 10:53|| Front Page Top

#2 The Dems are going after triple-amputee Brian Kolfage? That is pathetic. But then this is not about Bannon, Kolfage, Badolato, or Shea. Its all about Trump. The tip off was "the U.S. Southern District of New York."
Posted by JohnQC 2020-08-20 11:28||   2020-08-20 11:28|| Front Page Top

#3 Southern District of New York, isn't that the same bunch who want Trump's taxes?
Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-08-20 11:36||   2020-08-20 11:36|| Front Page Top

#4 Tried a DuckDuckGo search on "Southern District of New York Trump taxes" and I keep coming up with articles about Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. But the DA is not a US Attorney, I don't think. The articles never make it clear. Are they just all in bed together?
Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-08-20 11:40||   2020-08-20 11:40|| Front Page Top

#5 Abu__ if you'd seen a pic of Letitia, you wouldn't spoil our breakfast like that.
Posted by Mercutio 2020-08-20 12:27||   2020-08-20 12:27|| Front Page Top

#6 More bull. Did the DA investigate the Clinton foundation? Nope. Did they investigate the less than 10% of the total funds for Hathi going to Hathi? Did they look into Hillary's kid getting $750,000 with no deliverables? Ya, this is a witch hunt for certain.
Posted by 49 Pan 2020-08-20 12:46||   2020-08-20 12:46|| Front Page Top

#7 Ditto that #6. Scam DA's the problem.
Posted by Dale 2020-08-20 12:59||   2020-08-20 12:59|| Front Page Top

#8 Well said, 49 Pan. After reading all the comments here, I feel much better about this.
Posted by trailing wife 2020-08-20 13:29||   2020-08-20 13:29|| Front Page Top

#9 You turn over the finances until you find something. It's how the administrative state operates.
Posted by Elmung Hatrack5948 2020-08-20 13:32||   2020-08-20 13:32|| Front Page Top

#10 I think doing business out of New York when there are other choices says a lot about the business doers common sense. Whatever cachet a New York business address ever had it's vanishing quickly now.
Posted by M. Murcek 2020-08-20 13:33||   2020-08-20 13:33|| Front Page Top

#11 Doesn't make much sense for Bannon to steal money from the Border Wall account. He's already very rich from his Hollywood ventures. He knows he is top 3 on the Democrat's target list.
Posted by Woozle Grundy1232 2020-08-20 13:50||   2020-08-20 13:50|| Front Page Top

#12 Look for more Rep indictments to offset the Russiagate indictments.
Posted by Vespasian Ebboting9735 2020-08-20 14:13||   2020-08-20 14:13|| Front Page Top

#13 I read the first seven pages of the indictment; it's hyperbolic to say the least.

If Bannon, et. al. paid themselves regular salaries (W-2), there's nothing wrong with that - it's par for the course to pay employees, isn't it? The worst they appear to have done now is break public pledges, which may or may not be criminally actionable.
Posted by Raj 2020-08-20 14:16||   2020-08-20 14:16|| Front Page Top

#14 Forgot this part - I'm no lawyer, but I'd say it's not actionable and everything that guy just said is bullshit.
Posted by Raj 2020-08-20 14:21||   2020-08-20 14:21|| Front Page Top

#15 Ham sandwich indictment
Posted by M. Murcek 2020-08-20 14:28||   2020-08-20 14:28|| Front Page Top

#16 The on going lawfare war between the Clintons/NYC Manhatten DA and Trump/Barr US DA.
Posted by Vespasian Ebbereng3110 2020-08-20 14:46||   2020-08-20 14:46|| Front Page Top

#17 Could be just a political assassination job and my first instinct says this is what it is.

Could also be legit.

Anything is possible in 2020.
Posted by DarthVader 2020-08-20 15:24||   2020-08-20 15:24|| Front Page Top

#18 Could also be legit.

Was a guy in the news down here with net worth around $2 million who was a serial shoplifter. Just because someone has already made some serious bank doesn't mean they have their head on straight.

We won't know the deal here until all the facts are heard, and the way the courts are running lately, maybe not even then.
Posted by M. Murcek 2020-08-20 15:50||   2020-08-20 15:50|| Front Page Top

#19 I read a few more pages into it - they're asserting fraud was committed by Bannon & Co. (at a general level) of misleading 'investors' by way of changing their mission statement as well as not adhering to written by-laws stating Bannon & Co. said A,B and C were going to happen and allege that D,E and F happened instead.

I know that's not a complete review and I'm just not into the turgidness of finishing the rest of it now, but I think those are the main points so far.
Posted by Raj 2020-08-20 16:07||   2020-08-20 16:07|| Front Page Top

#20 It will take years to play out. Maybe a couple "conservative pundits" like Karl Rove and George Will will croak before it's resolved.
Posted by M. Murcek 2020-08-20 16:29||   2020-08-20 16:29|| Front Page Top

#21 What 49 Pan said @ #6.

Comey's daughter works for the SDNY.
Posted by JohnQC 2020-08-20 17:01||   2020-08-20 17:01|| Front Page Top

#22 Steve Bannon appears in court in HANDCUFFS and pleads not guilty to role in $25 million crowd-funded We Build The Wall scam as bail is set at $5 million - hours after being arrested at sea on Chinese billionaire's superyacht by Post Office cops
Posted by Skidmark 2020-08-20 19:10||   2020-08-20 19:10|| Front Page Top

#23 DM natch
Posted by KBK 2020-08-20 20:11||   2020-08-20 20:11|| Front Page Top

#24 The Dems are ramping up Soviet-style political show trials against their political enemies.
Posted by JohnQC 2020-08-20 23:46||   2020-08-20 23:46|| Front Page Top

#25 At least the Dems are doing something, not like Bill Barr & Co.
Posted by Clem 2020-08-20 23:58||   2020-08-20 23:58|| Front Page Top

18:46 Grom the Affective
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