On January 21, 2021, Congressman Bill Posey filed H.R.416 – To allow the Secretary of the Treasury to accept public donations to fund the construction of a barrier on the border between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes.
This bill will allow funding similar to “We Build the Wall,” an online crowdfunding campaign run by Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and his right arm while on deployment in Iraq in 2004. Through a viral GoFundMe page and other fundraising efforts, Kolfage and Steve Bannon — who served as chairman of We Build the Wall — raised more than $25 million in private donations from people who were told that 100% of their contribution would go straight into construction.
Kolfage, Bannon, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea were all named in the federal indictment and face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with We Build the Wall.
A U.S. attorney in New York charged the men with improperly diverting more than $1.3 million, much of it for their personal use.
