‘We Build the Wall’ co-founder indicted on yet another charge

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — The co-founder of the “We Build The Wall" project aimed at raising money for a private border wall in Sunland Park has been indicted on a second tax charge in Florida, adding to an earlier tax charge and fraud charge.

A federal grand jury indicted Brian Kolfage this week on a charge of filing a false tax return. He was previously charged with a separate count of filing a false tax return and a count of wire fraud related to the electronic filing of his tax return.

The original indictment handed down in May claimed that between January 2019 and July 2020, Kolfage engaged in a scheme to defraud the government in relation to his 2019 federal income tax returns.

Kolfage received hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple organizations during 2019, including We Build the Wall Inc., which were deposited into his personal bank account, prosecutors said. Kolfage failed to report this income to the IRS, officials said. The new charge is related to Kolfage filing a false amended tax return in December 2020, investigators said.

Kolfage is facing additional federal charges in New York. Last year, a federal grand jury in New York indicted Kolfage and Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump. Bannon was pardoned by Trump on his last day in office. The case still continues against Kolfage and others. The New York prosecutors have said Kolfage and others worked to divert some of the $25 million raised for the wall project for their own personal use.

Attorneys for Kolfage declined to comment on the case.