The former Trump adviser will avoid jail time but must stay out of trouble for the next three years to avoid future punishment.
Conservative podcast host Steve Bannon pled guilty in a New York State court on Feb. 11 to a fraud charge in connection with a push to fund private construction of the border wall.
Bannon, 71, entered a plea agreement with prosecutors to avoid jail time. In return, he received a three-year, conditional discharge that requires him to stay out of trouble to avoid future punishment.
As he left the courtroom, Bannon told reporters that he felt “like a million bucks.”
The former adviser to President Donald Trump initially pled not guilty to charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and a scheme to defraud for allegedly deceiving donors to a nonprofit he co-founded, We Build the Wall Inc.
The organization raised more than $15 million from donors across the country through a crowdfunding website. It promised that all proceeds would go toward building the southern border wall.
Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that throughout 2019, Bannon and his co-conspirators funneled “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in donations to third-party entities and then siphoned off those funds for personal gain.
The idea for the initiative originated with Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran. In 2023, Kolfage was sentenced in federal court to four years and three months in prison for his role in the scheme.
Kolfage repeatedly told donors that he would “not take a penny” of the proceeds for himself but ultimately pled guilty to charges of tax and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“I made a promise not to personally benefit and I broke that promise,” Kolfage told Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at the time.
Kolfage was ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to donors, as was financier Andrew Badolato, another co-defendant who pled guilty. Badolato received a three-year prison sentence.
A federal jury convicted Colorado businessman Timothy Shea for his role in the scheme. He was sentenced to five years and three months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.8 million and pay restitution of the same amount.
Although Bannon initially faced prosecution in that case, Trump pardoned him during the final hours of his first presidential term. A year later, in 2022, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought the state charges against Bannon.
Bannon’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, did not immediately return The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
