Brian Kolfage
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Brian Kolfage is an American far-right political activist, former
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
airman, and convicted
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
ster. He co-founded
We Build the Wall We Build the Wall is an organization that solicited donations to build private sections of the wall along the Mexico–U.S. border. It started as a GoFundMe campaign by United States Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage in December 2018. Kolfage a ...
, a private organization that purportedly aimed to construct a privately funded barrier on the
Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...
; he pleaded guilty in 2022 to federal
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
and tax crimes for defrauding donors to the group. Kolfage is a triple
amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...
who suffered injuries during the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
while serving with the U.S. Air Force. He later became a right-wing political activist who established a ring of
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
-promoting
clickbait Clickbait (also known as link bait or linkbait) is a text or a thumbnail hyperlink, link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow ("click") that link and view, read, stream or listen to the linked piece of online cont ...
websites. In December 2018, Kolfage initiated a fundraising campaign ostensibly to build
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's proposed U.S.–Mexico border barrier extension for an
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
called "We Build the Wall, Inc.," which ultimately raised $25 million, mostly from
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
and other online
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
. The organization constructed a fence near
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
on private land adjoining the border using $6–8 million of the donated funds. It claimed that it planned to construct further barriers on private lands adjoining the border with Mexico in Texas and California, but never did so. In August 2020, Kolfage was indicted, along with
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
and two other co-defendants, on federal charges of
defrauding In law, fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover mone ...
hundreds of thousands of We Build the Wall donors by diverting money that was raised to personal use. Federal prosecutors said that the defendants, despite telling donors that Kolfage would not be paid, schemed to divert $350,000 to Kolfage, "which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle." Kolfage was separately indicted in May 2021 on federal charges of defrauding the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
and filing false tax returns. Kolfage pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
conspiracy and two counts of filing a false tax return (for failing to report the diverted income); a co-defendant, Andrew Badolato, also pleaded guilty to fraud. In April 2023, he was sentenced to four years and three months in prison, and ordered to pay $25 million in restitution. In July 2023, he was imprisoned at Federal Medical Center Rochester (Rochester, Minnesota) where he is serving his sentence and is due to be released in November 2026.


Early life, military service and education

Kolfage was born in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and grew up in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. He graduated in 1999 from Kaimuki High School in Honolulu.Alana Edgin
Man indicted in 'We Build the Wall' GoFundMe case has San Angelo connections
''San Angelo Standard-Times'' (August 20, 2020).
He joined the U.S. Air Force and, in 2001, was assigned to the 17th squadron of the
Air Force Security Forces Air force ground forces and special forces are the land warfare forces of an air force. They may include infantry, special forces, security forces, and military police. Airmen assigned to such units may be trained, armed and equipped for ground ...
, stationed at
Goodfellow Air Force Base Goodfellow Air Force Base is a nonflying United States Air Force base located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. As part of Air Education and Training Command, Goodfellow's main mission is cryptologic and intelligence training for the Air Forc ...
. He was stationed in
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
in 2004, he volunteered to go to
Balad Air Base Balad Air Base () , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq. Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base was captured by the United States Armed Force ...
in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, where he was deployed as an air-cargo inspector. Kolfage was injured in Balad on September 11, 2004, after a missile exploded three feet away from him after he left his quarters. He lost both legs and his right hand, and received a
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
for his injuries. He was hospitalized for nearly a year at Walter Reed Medical Center, leaving the hospital in July 2005. After his discharge from Walter Reed, he took a civilian job at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base until enrolling in college. He attended the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
on a scholarship from the Pat Tillman Foundation, and graduated from its School of Architecture in 2014. After his injury he began to speak publicly about his experience and recovery. He filmed a campaign ad for Democratic Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...
, and was invited as Giffords's special guest to President Obama's
State of the Union address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...
in 2012.


Personal life

Kolfage married his first wife, Nikki (née Grounds), in 2004 at
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...
, during his recovery from his military-service injuries. During his time at Goodfellow, he met his current wife, Ashley (née Goetz), whom he married in 2011. Kolfage lived in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, for almost a decade before moving with his wife to Florida, where they settled in Miramar Beach. Ashley filed for divorce in July 2024 and the marriage was dissolved in January 2025


Business ventures


Fake news websites and social media activity

By 2013, Kolfage began to spread conspiracy theories on social media. After becoming a right-wing political activist, Kolfage established various business ventures, including various
fake news website Fake news websites (also referred to as hoax news websites) are websites on the Internet that deliberately publish fake news—hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be news, real news—often using social media to drive web traffic ...
s that promoted
clickbait Clickbait (also known as link bait or linkbait) is a text or a thumbnail hyperlink, link that is designed to attract attention and to entice users to follow ("click") that link and view, read, stream or listen to the linked piece of online cont ...
and
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
.Sarah Harvard
Veteran behind viral border wall GoFundMe has history of 'fake news' websites
''Independent'' (December 21, 2018).
He ramped up his online presence in 2015. Sites that Kolfage either owned or was closely associated with included Freedom Daily; Keep America First; Right Wing News; Trump Republic; and VeteranAF. They were heavily promoted on Facebook. In text messages, Kolfage claimed that his websites and Facebook pages netted him up to $200,000 a month. ''The Independent'' noted that the websites relied on outrage-inducing headlines, "often false, racist and provocative—to increase viewership and shares"; headlines featured on the website included "Obnoxious Black People Lose Their Minds When Victoria Secret Models Say This 1 Word On Live Video" and "Trump Just Released Embarrassing Vids Of Obama's Muslim Friends That He Never Wanted Seen." He also began writing articles for website The Blaze. Kolfage repeatedly denied owning Freedom Daily, but NBC News reported in 2019 that "former employees and competitors, most of whom asked for anonymity out of fear of retribution, provided company emails, employment documents and company checks that show Kolfage's home address as Freedom Daily's corporate business address." In October 2018, all of Kolfage's Facebook news pages – as well as his "Military Grade Coffee" page – were taken down as part of Facebook's purge of spam and "inauthentic activity" sites. Facebook cited Kolfage's creation of multiple fake accounts and posting of "ad farms" links. Kolfage frequently used
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
to personally attack detractors and promote misinformation against those he perceived as opponents, including progressives, fellow veterans, and former conservative allies. Kolfage's vilification of his critics on social media led to his followers targeting the critics with invective, harassment, and
death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...
s. After a Catholic priest of the La Lomita Chapel (a historic Catholic site whose land was threatened by the wall) opposed the project, Kolfage smeared him as a promoter of "human trafficking and abuse of women and children." Other social media targets of Kolfage included the National Butterfly Center, which is located adjacent to a border fence constructed in the Rio Grande Valley. In 2019, Kolfage posted 30 tweets attacking the butterfly center, attacking it as "left-wing thugs with a sham butterfly agenda" and accusing the center of supporting "illegal immigration and sex trafficking of women and children." Kolfage also lashed out at the
International Boundary and Water Commission The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC, , CILA) is an international body created by the United States and Mexico in 1889 to apply the rules for determining the location of their international boundary when meandering rivers trans ...
and the mayor of
Sunland Park, New Mexico Sunland Park is a city in southeastern Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, on the borders of Texas and the Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, with Ciudad Juárez adjoining it on the south and El Paso, Texas, on the ea ...
, blaming the latter for moving too slowly to grant border-wall permits. In 2013, Kolfage shared a fabricated image of a post from a
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
woman, doctored so that it appeared she had called disabled veterans worthless; after Kolfage shared the content, the woman, as well as her elderly mother, were inundated with hundreds of violent threats online and in menacing phone calls. The case led to civil litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, in 2015, Kolfage issued a formal apology to the woman. Kolfage closed his Twitter feed after he was indicted on federal charges, but in September 2020, he re-launched his account to promote his claim that the criminal prosecution against him is a politically motivated "witch hunt."Josh Gerstein
Feds gripe about wall backer's rants against prosecution
''Politico'' (August 28, 2020).
Kolfage's social media rants prompted federal prosecutors to complain that Kolfage's statements had "the potential to taint a future jury pool." A federal judge issued a warning to Kolfage but declined to issue a
gag order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed on to any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
.


Fundraising lists

In addition to his Facebook pages and websites, Kolfage also ran many online fundraising campaigns. Through his border-wall campaign, Kolfage claimed to have amassed 3.5 million email addresses as well as phone numbers and names, a formidable asset in support of pro-Trump efforts. In 2019, NBC News reported that "according to former employees and public records including website archives, Nevada business registrations, and property records, Kolfage has repeatedly created GoFundMe campaigns and published inflammatory fake news articles, pushing them both from websites that he sought to hide behind shell companies and false identities, in part to harvest email addresses" which were "then used to push people back to Kolfage's websites, to sell a brand of coffee he owns, or to be stockpiled for future use by conservative campaigns." During the 2020 political campaigns, Kolfage reportedly offered his list to a Republican fundraising consultant, proposing to keep half of any revenue the list generated.


America First Medical

In February 2020, Kolfage started a medical-equipment company America First Medical amid growing alarm about
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
-related personal-protective-equipment (PPE) shortages. He told
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
that he planned for the company to acquire
N95 respirator An N95 respirator is a disposable Respirator#Filtering facepiece, filtering facepiece respirator or reusable elastomeric respirator filter that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 standard of air fi ...
s from stockpiles he had found around the world, broker large-volume sales of them, and collect up to 3% of every total sale. He did not explain where the alleged stockpiles were located, nor how he found them. In March 2020, Kolfage ordered a total of 25 million masks for America First Medical from MAMS Global Trading House (a manufacturer and distributor of power tools and safety equipment based in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
). The first order was for 10 million masks, for a total of $1.5 million. According to documents detailing the transaction, AFM agreed to wire half of the money ($750,000) up front, and the rest when the masks were delivered. The deal was not successfully concluded. MAMS' CEO said before the company received payment, Kolfage disputed the transaction with his bank and reported the company as fraudulent to Dubai police. Kolfage also asked his bank to place the $750,000 in his personal account instead of the AFM account. The bank denied the request.


"We Build the Wall, Inc." scam


Origins

In December 2018, Kolfage, along with fellow Trump allies,Colin Moynihan
Judge Sentences Trump Allies in 'We Build the Wall' Scheme
''New York Times'' (April 26, 2023).
started an attempt to raise $1 billion via
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
for the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Kolfage said the target figure was achievable, adding "This won't be easy, but it's our duty as citizens." In an email to the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Kolfage stated that he began the fundraiser as "political games from both parties" have been holding back funding for the wall. Within three days, over $9 million had been raised. Kolfage was one of four co-founders of the group. His three co-founders were
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
, a former senior advisor to Trump; Timothy Shea, a
Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most-populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town’s population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Ro ...
businessman who ran a pro-Trump group; and Andrew Badolato, a financier based in Florida.Bente Birkeland and Allison Sherry
The 'We Build the Wall' Scheme That Got Steve Bannon Indicted Involves a Colorado Man, Too
Colorado Public Radio (August 20, 2020).
Kolfage served as the public face of the group. The organization boasted on social media about its tie to Trump. Its advisory board was filled with Trump allies, including
Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...
, the founder of the private military company Blackwater (later known as Academi);
Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...
, a former Republican congressman from Colorado; and
Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right handed pitcher and commentator for media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance in 1993 World Seri ...
. In January 2019, Kolfage posted a message to the GoFundMe page that he had decided that raising money through a nonprofit would be more successful. A new
501(c)4 A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out ...
non-profit was created and called We Build the Wall Inc., through which Kolfage planned to have segments of the wall privately constructed through negotiations with landowners along the border. Funding was passed through an LLC operated by Shea. In May 2019, the organization constructed a "weathered steel"
bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. In modern usage, it also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to pre ...
fence near
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
on private land adjoining the border using $6–8 million of the donated funds. The group claimed that it planned to construct further barriers on private lands adjoining the border with Mexico in Texas and California, but never did so. The group was praised by Donald Trump Jr., who was a "special guest" at a July 2019 event hosted by the group; Trump Jr. praised the effort, saying: "This is what capitalism is all about. This is private enterprise at its finest. Doing it better, faster, cheaper than anything else. What you guys are doing is amazing."
Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the attorney general of Kansas since 2023. He previously served as the 31st secretary of state of Kansas from 2011 to 2019. A former chairman o ...
, the Republican former
Kansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...
and now its Attorney General, was also involved. In 2019, during his campaign for the U.S. Senate, he sent out a campaign fundraiser using both the corporate name and email list of "Wall" donors. His involvement with "We Build the Wall," as 501(c)(4) organization, and use of the fundraising and campaign mailing lists it was accumulating, raised concerns, as 501(c)(4)s are legally prohibited from coordinating with federal campaigns.


Investigation and indictment

On August 20, 2020, Kolfage was indicted and arrested along with
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
and two other co-defendants (Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea) on charges of defrauding donors to build a border wall along the Mexico–U.S. border and funneling the money for their own personal use; the case is pending in New York federal court. While
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
issued a
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
to Bannon in the final hours of his presidency (before the case could come to trial), Trump did not pardon Kolfage or the other two indicted defendants. Because Bannon was pardoned, his ability to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of making a statement that exposes oneself to an accusation of criminal liability or prosecution. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where ...
could be curtailed, meaning that Bannon could be called as a witness against his three former co-defendants, including Kolfage. Bannon's federal pardon did not shield him against prosecution for state crimes, and he was indicted in 2022 in New York state. Kolfage testified before a grand jury in Manhattan before Bannon's indictment. In early May 2021, Kolfage was separately indicted by a grand jury in federal court in Pensacola, Florida on charges of fraud and filing false tax returns. The indictment charged Kolfage with knowingly underreporting his income to the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
—specifically, by claiming an income of $63,000 in his 2019 tax return while failing to report more than $350,000 deposited into his personal bank account from "We Build the Wall" contributors and other sources."


Guilty plea and sentence

On April 21, 2022, Kolfage pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and two counts of filing a false tax return (for failing to report the diverted income). A co-defendant, Andrew Badolato, also pleaded guilty to fraud. Shea had earlier been convicted, in an October 2021 trial.Luc Cohen
Bannon associate sentenced to 4-1/4 years for Trump border wall fraud
Reuters (April 26, 2023).
Pleading guilty, Kolfage acknowledged that he induced donors to contribute to the group "in part through the misrepresentation that I would not profit from We Build the Wall or take a salary or compensation", and that he "knowingly and willingly conspired to receive money from the donations." On April 26, 2023, U.S. District Judge
Analisa Torres Analisa Nadine Torres (born 1959) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Analisa Torres's father, Frank Torres, served for many years as a New York Su ...
sentenced Kolfage to 51 months (4 years, 4 months) in federal prison, followed by three years of
supervised release Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole of ...
, and ordered him to
forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...
$17,872,106, pay $2,877,414 in
restitution Restitution and unjust enrichment is the field of law relating to gains-based recovery. In contrast with damages (the law of compensation), restitution is a claim or remedy requiring a defendant to give up benefits wrongfully obtained. Liability ...
. During the sentencing hearing, Kolfage expressed contrition, saying he was "disgusted, humiliated ... deeply sorry for" his crimes. Arguing for home incarceration, Kolfage's defense lawyers depicted him as merely a "symbolic leader" of the group, and cited his military service and expression of regret in arguing for a "home incarceration" sentence. In passing sentence, Torres called the scam "infamous" and said it injured not only the individual donors who were defrauded, but also the broader "
body politic The body politic is a polity—such as a city, realm, or state—considered metaphorically as a physical body. Historically, the sovereign is typically portrayed as the body's head, and the analogy may also be extended to other anatomical part ...
" because it produced "a
chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, th ...
on civic participation in the political realm."


Imprisonment

On July 25, 2023, Kolfage started his sentence and was imprisoned as inmate 26978-017 at FMC Rochester (a Federal Medical Center Prison) in Rochester, Minnesota. Without any reduction in sentence or early release, he would have been released on January 25, 2027, however according to the Bureau of Prisons inmate lookup, his release date now shows June 4, 2026, with no reason for the earlier release (dates have changed at least five times since incarceration based on look BOP inmate lookup). Upon release, Kolfage will serve an additional three years of supervised release per his sentencing.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolfage, Brian 1982 births Living people American amputees American people convicted of fraud American people convicted of tax crimes People from Hawaii United States Air Force airmen United States Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Year of birth missing (living people)