Trump's ex-adviser Steve Bannon arrested for defrauding donors of ‘We Build the Wall’ campaign

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Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist of the White House, has been arrested on charges of defrauding thousands of donors through their 'We Build the Wall' online fundraising campaign.

Bannon and three of his associates were arrested on August 20 by investigators at the US Southern District of New York for raising “millions of dollars on the false pretense that all of the money would be spent on construction work”. The United States Postal Inspection Service assisted in the investigation.

They were supposed to raise money to build a border wall and help fulfill US President Donald Trump’s campaign promise through the online fundraising scheme. Instead, they allegedly profited from the arrangement.

The conservative leaders had raised “more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States,” according to the United States Department of Justice. The others indicted in the financial fraud are Acting Administrator of Drug Enforcement Administration Timothy Shea, war veteran Brian Kolfage, and Andrew Badolato.

Prosecutors have alleged that Bannon and his associates “collectively received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds from ‘We Build the Wall,’ which they each used in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations.”

They have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.