ABC News reported that on February 11, Mr. Steve Bannon - who was a close advisor during the first term of US President Donald Trump - pleaded guilty to fraud after being accused of misappropriating donations from New Yorkers in the online fundraising campaign "We Build the Wall" to build a border wall between the US and Mexico.
In the court, Mr. Bannon appeared in a brown jacket and a silver head, brushed backwards.
The court imposed a three-year conditional sentence, during which Bannon is prohibited from holding leadership roles at charities or raising funds for nonprofits. He is also not allowed to use donor data for “We Build the Wall.”
After the trial, Mr. Bannon announced that he would call on Attorney General Pam Bondi to further prosecute Attorney General Letitia James and investigate Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, both of whom have won lawsuits against President Trump.
Meanwhile, Mr. Alvin Bragg emphasized that New York charities and donors were protected from fraud after Mr. Bannon was convicted. The prosecutor affirmed that Mr. Bannon would not be able to take charge or lead any charity in New York in the future.
Before his trial, defense attorney Arthur Aidala advised Mr. Bannon to plead guilty, knowing that he would have little chance of winning before a jury in Manhattan. Mr. Bannon was also indicted on the same charge in September 2022 and had previously pleaded not guilty.
At that time, Mr. Bannon was charged in federal court with three co-defendants but was pardoned by President Trump, while the remaining co-defendants were still prosecuted and their assets were confiscated to return to the victims.
In addition, the guilty plea on February 11 marked the second time Mr. Bannon has faced criminal charges. He previously served a prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
Also according to ABC News, Mr. Bannon once declared that he would use 100% of the money donated to the "We Build the Wall" project to build a wall on the southern border of the United States, but that money was diverted elsewhere.
Prosecutors said Mr. Bannon defrauded donors by falsely claiming that all the money would be used to build the wall and that the organization’s president, Brian Kolfage, took no salary.
In reality, however, Mr. Kolfage received hundreds of thousands of dollars laundered through third parties, including an initial payment of $100,000 and $20,000 per month.
