Supporters of former President Donald Trump’s signature immigration policy who were swindled in the “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding scam testified in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday about paying for a southern border wall they never got.
The testimony came on the second day of Steve Bannon associate Timothy Shea’s retrial. The Colorado businessman is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, and a host of related charges connected to the “We Build the Wall” fundraiser. Shea’s last trial ended without a verdict when a juror refused to convict, citing a government “witch hunt.”
Nicole Keller, a high school teacher from Texas, was one of more than 350,000 people who donated money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
She said she gave up her cash after she heard Purple Heart recipient Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee who was the face of the charity, said “every penny” raised would go toward the goal. Kolfage pleaded guilty to the scheme in April along with Bannon’s friend Andrew Badolato.
“I remember being impressed at seeing that ‘100%’ — that there was a private citizen that was so committed to the task that it was something he was going to stand completely behind as we donated our money,” Keller testified.
Keller said once she read news articles casting doubt on the fund’s legitimacy, she tried in vain to get her money back from GoFundMe.
“I was insulted that somebody had taken what should be a position of honor and valor,” said Keller. “And instead used it to defraud me.”
Army veteran William Ward, 72, of Arizona, contributed $100 in a “symbolic” gesture for what he thought was a noble cause.
Ward believed “that the proceeds were all going to go in the most direct manner possible to actually construct the wall,” he told the jury.
He also failed to get his money back after he learned the fund was being investigated.
“I just felt I’d been cheated,” he said.
Some of the $25 million that the campaign took in went toward partial construction of the wall — and some of it was used for cosmetic surgery, home renovations, a car, a boat, a golf cart, jewelry and credit card debt, prosecutors said.
Ranch Property Management, Shea’s shell company, was the vessel that funneled many illegal wire payments to Bannon, Kolfage and Badolato, according to the indictment.
Shea, who owns an energy drink company that purports to sell “liberal tears,” has pleaded not guilty.
Trump pardoned Bannon of federal charges in a last-minute clemency blitz before leaving the White House. He was charged anew by the Manhattan district attorney last month and has pleaded not guilty. The presidential pardon didn’t encompass state prosecution.
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