(CNN) New York federal prosecutors on Thursday charged President Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon and three others with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump's border wall. Bannon, Kolfage and the other two defendants, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Kolfage, Badolato and Shea didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. The indictment describes a sleight-of-hand perpetrated by the defendants on donors to the We Build the Wall group. In February, CNN reported that We Build the Wall had communicated with the administration on plans to build a wall along the southern border and donate it to the US government.

Source: CNN August 20, 2020 13:49 UTC