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On August 20th, President Trump’s former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was arrested on fraud charges relating to the “We Build the Wall” construction project on the U.S.-Mexico border. The news made for splashy headlines, but story behind the charges was more mundane. Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee veteran and Purple Heart recipient, used a crowdfunding website as part of a political gag aimed at raising $1 billion dollars to construct a U.S.-Mexico border wall. After unexpectedly raising $17 million dollars within the first week, Kolfage decided to hand off the suddenly real and ambitious initiative to someone with more experience,...

Editor’s note: Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon and three other men, and charged them with allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors to an online fundraising campaign to build portions of wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a University of Notre Dame law professor who researches nonprofits, explains what’s going on and what the consequences could be. ============================================================================================================ 1. Who is accused of what, exactly? Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has accused Bannon and the founder of the “We Build...

Former White House strategist and ex-Breitbart editor-in-chief Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty after he was arrested and charged with fraud over his alleged involvement in an online scam that raised more than $25 million to help fund a privately owned wall along the U.S.–Mexico border.In a court appearance on Aug. 20, Bannon, 66, pleaded not guilty. A judge set his bond at $5 million.The magistrate judge approved Bannon’s release on $5 million bail, secured by $1.75 million in assets, according to The Associated Press.Bannon and three others, including operator Brian Kolfage, were charged with allegedly defrauding donors out of...

Accused fraudster and former White House strategist Steve Bannon was aboard a $28 million yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire when he was arrested on fraud charges Thursday morning, according to reports. The 150-foot mega vessel was in the Long Island Sound near Westbrook, Connecticut, when President Trump’s former strategist was picked up by US Postal Service inspectors, the Hartford Courant reported. The boat, the Lady May, is owned by Guo Wengui, one of China’s most wanted fugitives, who is wanted in Beijing on fraud, blackmail and bribery charges

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested for alleged fraud in connection with a border wall-building campaign. The estimable Andrew McCarthy reviews the indictment in National Review and comments, “The wire-fraud and money-laundering charges were a long time coming, and the postal inspectors appear to have meticulously traced the proceeds through numerous bank accounts, real-estate parcels, and at least one vehicle. These are itemized in the indictment’s forfeiture allegations, which are in addition to the significant imprisonment and staggering fines that could result in the event of convictions.” Here’s my commentary from Asia Times: In August 2017, I was...

Steve Bannon, ‘We Build The Wall’ organizers arrested, charged with defrauding donors Steve Bannon has been federally indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection to a crowdfunding campaign to build a border wall. Bannon was arrested this morning in Washington, D.C. on charges he and others allegedly made false representations about the “We Build the Wall campaign.” Bannon, 66 is expected to appear in court virtually on Thursday. Prosecutors said Bannon and others defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors to the online campaign by falsely assuring them the organizers were not taking a penny of...