Steve Bannon Charged in Alleged Border Wall Fundraising Scheme

Former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon was arrested and charged with fraud Thursday for what federal prosecutors said was a scheme to siphon hundreds of thousands of dollars from a crowdfunding campaign that aimed to help achieve one of the president’s signature campaign promises: building a wall along the Southern U.S. border.

The We Build the Wall campaign wasn’t connected to President Trump but was promoted by several people close to him. It raised more than $25 million, according to prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, which brought the case.

“As alleged, the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction,” Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.