Unnamed Building Firm Cited In Private Wall Fraud Charges

摘要

Privately financed sections of the U.S.Mexico border wall in New Mexico and Texas came under scrutiny again Aug. 20 when four officials of a wall fund-raising group, We Build the Wall, were indicted on fraud charges for tapping the $25-million donor fund for personal use. The indictment notes involvement of an unnamed construction contractor, but the contractor was not charged. Among the four indicted by the federal prosecutor in New York City and arrested was Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Donald Trump. He and the others were released on bond. Brian Kol-fage, the Iraq War veteran who began We Build the Wall, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by taking more than $350,000 for personal use from the fund, some of which was used to build non-federal border wall segments in Sun-land Park, N.M., and in Mission, Texas. The unnamed construction contractor, referred to in the indictment as "associ-ate-1," was paid $150,000 and in turn paid $70,000 to Kolfage and $50,000 to Andrew Badolato, a Bannon business partner also charged in the conspiracy along with Timothy Shea, a conservative commentator. The four men also were charged with money laundering.