2 Florida men sentenced for role in ‘We Build the Wall’ scam

Brian Kolfage leaves federal court. Image via AP.

Two Florida men involved in a scam raising private donations for a never-built wall will spend years in prison.

A U.S. district court judge sentenced Brian Kolfage of Miramar Beach to 51 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other charges stemming from his 2019 tax filings. The judge sentenced Andrew Badolato of Sarasota to 36 months.

Both were tied to a “We Build the Wall” campaign co-founded by Steve Bannon, a top political advisor to former President Donald Trump. The effort raised more than $25 million from donors nationwide, but none of that went to an effort to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

“Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato abused the trust of donors to We Build the Wall and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to line their own pockets,” said U.S. District Attorney Damian Williams of New York. “The defendants have now been held accountable for their criminal conduct.”

Prosecutors say the figures involved in the fundraising scheme pocketed the money raised.

In his plea, Kolfage admitted to illicitly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for a number of organizations, including “We Build the Wall.” The money was siphoned directly to his personal bank account. He then failed to report the income to the IRS, and used it to pay for a boat, luxury SUV, jewelry and elective cosmetic surgery, prosecutors said.

“Mr. Kolfage deliberately and egregiously side-stepped his legal duty to pay taxes when he devised an elaborate scheme to hide income from his nonprofit organization, We Build the Wall,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne.

“Kolfage repeatedly falsely claimed he would not take a salary and preyed on the generosity of hundreds of thousands of donors through his vast online fundraising scam. Today’s sentencing should serve as evidence that this type of blatant disregard for the rules and obligations that govern nonprofit fundraising will not be tolerated.”

Badolato pleaded guilty only to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Once Kolfage serves prison time, he will stay under supervised release for three years and has to pay more than $143,000. That’s on top of millions in forfeitures and restitution after the scheme to raise money for a wall.

Kolfage, an Air Force veteran who lost three limbs during his service in the Iraq war, pleaded guilty last year, according to the Associated Press.

“The United States relies on the honest payment of taxes to defend our country and maintain its operations,” said U.S. District Attorney Jason Coody, top prosecutor for the North District of Florida.

“With the assistance of our dedicated law enforcement partners, we are committed to investigating and prosecuting those who falsely misrepresent their income — whether by traditional evasion or the filing of fraudulent documents to further their criminal schemes. This sentence should serve as a significant deterrent to such illegal conduct.”

Bannon previously pleaded not guilty to stealing $1 million in the scam. Trump pardoned Bannon shortly before leaving office last year.

Court filings say Badolato and Kolfage conspired with Bannon and with Timothy O’Shea, a codefendant still awaiting sentencing. O’Shea was convicted in a trial of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money and obstruction of justice. He is scheduled for sentencing in June.