Three men indicted for defrauding contributors to a non-profit that promised to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico have pleaded innocent in federal court.
We Build The Wall organizers Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea entered their plea Monday via teleconference before Judge Analisa Torres in New York, Fox News reported. The three were charged along with Breitbart news founder and President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign CEO and White House strategist Steve Bannon on Aug. 20 in the case.
Bannon had previously pleaded not guilty but also attended Monday’s hearing virtually.
Torres scheduled the trial to begin May 24. She set bail for Kolfage at $500,000, and $260,000 each for Badolato and Shea.
The thrust of the federal prosecutor’s case is that the We Build The Wall claimed it was a “volunteer organization” in which 100% of donations would go to the construction of a federal wall along the United States-Mexico border.
It also claimed that if the organization failed to meet fundraising goals it would return all donations in full.
The campaign raised $17 million within a week of launching and $25 million in total.
The indictment claims Kolfage, Bannon, Badolato and Shea took money for themselves, including Bannon receiving more than $1 million through a nonprofit which he then used for personal expenses and to pay Kolfage.
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