Steve Bannon arrested and charged with fraud
Former Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon was charged on Thursday with fraud by federal prosecutors in New York and taken into custody.
The state of play: Bannon, along with three others, allegedly defrauded donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own profit with a crowdfunding campaign called "We Build the Wall" that raked in over $25 million.
The indictment says that Bannon, via a non-profit, took in over $1 million from the scheme "and at least some of it was used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in [his] personal expenses."
Bannon's co-conspirators are Brian Kolfage, who served as the organization's founder and president, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea.
The big picture: According to its website, We Build the Wall's says it "will focus on building portions of a U.S. Southern Border wall and manage the support operations required for, and the processes associated with, the design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of the wall."
The indictment says that the organization did indeed spend money on a border wall but alleges that "hundreds of thousands of dollars were siphoned ... for the personal use and benefit" of the defendants.
They allegedly used the money "for a variety of personal expenses, including, among other things, travel, hotel, consumer goods and personal credit card debts." Kolfage specifically allegedly used his share for "home renovations, payments toward a boat, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments and credit card debt."
What they're saying: "As alleged, the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction," acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.
"This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist," added Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett.
