Kaimuki graduate Brian Kolfage pleads guilty to border wall fraud scheme

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A Kaimuki High School graduate and Air Force veteran gravely wounded while serving in Iraq pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in defrauding donors to an online fundraising campaign supporting the construction of a border wall.

Brian Kolfage, 39, entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Kolfage also pled guilty to tax and wire fraud charges filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Jason R. Coody. Kolfage is a current Florida resident.

Kolfage lived on Oahu from about the seventh grade and enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from Kaimuki High School in 1999. The Hawaii House of Representatives recognized and honored Kolfage’s service and sacrifice in Iraq with a resolution during the 2018 session.

On Aug. 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Kolfage of conspiring with former President Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon, Andrew Badalato, and others to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors who gave money to an online crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall.” The campaign allegedly raised more than $25 million to support the construction of a wall across the southern U.S. border.

Badalato also pled guilty to conspiracy today. He is an entrepreneur who worked with Bannon on the nonprofit Bannon founded with the mission of spreading “economic nationalism and American sovereignty,” according to federal court documents

Kolfage promised donors he would work for free, according to federal court documents, and that all donations would support building the wall. From January 2019 to October 2019, Kolfage received more than $350,000 in donor funds, according to court documents, funneled to him through falsified business records, including vendor agreements.

Kolfage used the money to pay for personal expenses including home renovations, payments towards a boat, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments and credit card debt, according to the indictment.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on Sept. 6 before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.