'INNOCENT'
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to ‘funneling $1M from border wall fund’ after arrest on superyacht
FORMER White House adviser Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of illegally funneling $1million in donations from a border wall scheme after being arrested on a superyacht.
’s former aide and three others were charged with allegedly defrauding donors who gave money to the "We Build The Wall" fund in 2018.
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Upon exiting court, Bannon rushed past reporters and went straight into his car, dodging questions and smirking.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York asked for Bannon's bail to be set at $5million, according to .
He was released on $5million bond, secured with $1.75million in assets.
Bannon will not be allowed to travel on private planes, boats or yachts without court permission, CNN reported.
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At his hearing the same day, Bannon had his hands cuffed in front of him while a large, white mask covered most of his face.
He rocked back and forward as he sat on a chair in a holding at federal , from where he appeared via video as his lawyers were on the telephone.
The former adviser also appeared to be sunburned, reported.
Despite Thursday's court appearance, former Senator Al Franken that Bannon is still scheduled to speak at Tuesday night's Republican National Convention.
was arrested on a boat off the Eastern coast of , reported – and he'd been on it for several weeks, telling people we was "at sea."
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The Coast Guard assisted in Bannon's arrest aboard the "Lady May" yacht in Long Island Sound by USPS inspectors.
He was brought into custody on the 150' long, $28 million mega yacht owned by exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui without incident, reports say.
Attorneys for the Southern District of confirmed that Bannon was arrested on Thursday morning for defrauding donors in the scheme that raised $25million through private donations.
Brian Kolfage, 38, of Miramar Beach, , Bannon, 66, of , Andred Badolato, 56, of Sarasota, Florida, and Timothy Shea, 49, of Castle Rock, , were all charged.
CHARGES
They are each facing one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Each charge carries a 20-year prison sentence.
"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 US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a .
"While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle," Strauss added.
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“The defendants allegedly engaged in fraud when they misrepresented the true use of donated funds," Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said.
"As alleged, not only did they lie to donors, they schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth," he continued.
"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.”
The indictment alleged that Bannon, Kolfage, Badolato and Shea used the millions of dollars "in a manner inconsistent with with the organization's public representations."
Documents allege Bannon "received over $1,00,000 from We Build the Wall" and paid Kolfage and "cover hundreds of thousands of dollars" in personal expenses for himself.
All four of them allegedly created a shell company, Non-profit-1, to conceal their personal payouts.
Court documents state that the four men defrauded Trump supporters with an online crowdfunding campaign to build a wall along the southern border of the .
Bannon and the other defendants allegedly paid Kolfage $100,000, followed by additional $20,000 monthly payments.
The alleged payouts came as the men claimed they were volunteers and Kolfage was unpaid.
Court documents claim Kolfage, Bannon, Badolato and Shea "caused We Build the Wall to mislead donors, promising them repeatedly that '100 percent' of the funds would be used for construction of a wall."
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After it was discovered We Build the Wall may be under federal investigation, the defendants allegedly "took additional steps to conceal the fraudulent scheme," court papers allege.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred beginning in December 2018.
denied all involvement, saying the campaign was only set up to "showboat" and "make me look bad" via a statement, which he reiterated at a press briefing.
The president's statement insisted he hasn't been involved with Bannon since he was ousted from the administration and doesn't know the other men involved.
He tweeted on July 12 that he disagreed with doing this "very small (tiny) section of wall, in a tricky area, by a private group" – just days after experts along the banks of the Rio Grande.
Trump also told reporters at : "When I read about it, I didn't like it. I said this is for government, this isn't for private people. And it sounded to me like showboating."
Trump has used his presidential pardoning powers to aid several political allies.
Most recently,
Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press he was informed of the investigation regarding Bannon months ago.
He did not specify, however, if Trump was briefed.
How much is Steve Bannon worth?
Steve Bannon was arrested on Thursday morning – but what is Trump's former aide worth?
• Bannon is thought to have amassed a fortune somewhere between $20million and $48million dollars.
• In 2018, Forbes reported Bannon’s largest individual holding, worth between $5million and $25million, is his consulting firm, Bannon Strategic Advisers.
• His film company, Bannon Film Industries, is worth between $1million and $5million.
• In 2016, the company put out Clinton Cash, a scathing film based on the book Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.
• Before he began working for Trump in 2016, Bannon took a salary of $191,000 from Breitbart. He was later fired from the website.
Kolfage will be in court in on Thursday, while Bannon will be presented in the Southern District of New York.
Badolato's first court appearance is also scheduled in Florida on Thursday, as Shea faces a judge.
The District Judge Analisa Torres in the SDNY will be handling the case.
Bannon is a former banker who served on 's campaign and then in before he was fired in late 2017.
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He's been described as the "" by Bloomberg.
From March 2012, Bannon was executive chairman of Breitbart News.
In 2018, Bannon is thought to have amassed a fortune somewhere between $20million and $48million dollars.
The year before, reported Bannon’s largest individual holding, worth between $5 million and $25 million, is his consulting firm, Bannon Strategic Advisors.
Bannon was appointed to become chief executive of Trump's campaign on August 17, 2016.
Following his stunning election win, Trump hired Bannon to become his chief strategist and senior counsellor, which drew heavy criticism.
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Bannon was reportedly sacked from the White House by Trump himself in August 2017.
The president later said he had "lost his mind" after Bannon told the author Michael Wolff that meeting with a group of was "treasonous" and "bad s***."
He later apologized for his comments during the “Fire and Fury” book interview.
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