Jury finds man guilty of defrauding donors in border wall crowdfunding scheme
By Kara Scannell
A New York jury found Timothy Shea guilty on Friday of a scheme to defraud donors through a crowdfunding scheme to build a private US-Mexico Border wall in a campaign called “We Build the Wall,” according to the US Attorney’s office.
“Timothy Shea and his co-defendants orchestrated a crowdfunding scheme to purportedly raise funds to erect a border wall between Mexico and the United States,” US Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement. “We Build The Wall’s public campaign promised that 100% of the funds raised would be used to build the wall, which induced over 100,000 victims to donate. And they stole over $25 million from their victims.”
Shea’s two other co-defendants Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Kolfage also pleaded guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud in connection with filing a false tax return.
Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon was also indicted, pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing, and was later pardoned by then-President Trump in his final days in office.
Bannon has since been indicted by a New York state grand jury on charges related to the crowdfunding scheme. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.
The-CNN-Wire
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