Triple-amputee Trump supporter who crowdfunded $25 million to build a private border wall is hit with a second charge of filing a false tax return

 The co-founder of the 'We Build The Wall' project aimed at raising money for a private border wall has been indicted on a second tax charge in Florida, adding to an earlier tax charge and fraud charge.

Brian Kolfage, 38, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola on Tuesday 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. 

Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee who served in Iraq, (pictured with wife Ashley) has been hit with a second charge of tax fraud after his indictment in May

Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee who served in Iraq, (pictured with wife Ashley) has been hit with a second charge of tax fraud after his indictment in May

A federal grand jury in Pensacola indicted Brian Kolfage on Tuesday on a charge of filing a false tax return. He was previously charged with separate counts in May

A federal grand jury in Pensacola indicted Brian Kolfage on Tuesday on a charge of filing a false tax return. He was previously charged with separate counts in May 


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. 

They are charged in that case with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each count carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. 

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. When he was arrested, Bannon was aboard a 151-foot yacht off the coast of Connecticut.

Kolfage and others - Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea - have all pleaded not guilty and are free on bail. They await trial.

Bannon and Kolfage are pictured in a video on the We Build The Wall website

Bannon and Kolfage are pictured in a video on the We Build The Wall website 

Kolfage launched the private wall effort in December 2018. He took it off GoFundMe recently because, he claimed, the company was not allowing him to fundraise for victims of assaults by BLM protesters

Kolfage launched the private wall effort in December 2018. He took it off GoFundMe recently because, he claimed, the company was not allowing him to fundraise for victims of assaults by BLM protesters

Attorneys for Kolfage declined to comment on the case.

Kolfage has a May 27 arraignment hearing in Pensacola federal court. The other case against Kolfage is in New York.

Earlier this year he spoke out against the initial indictment, accusing federal prosecutors in Manhattan of fabricating the allegations as part of a political witch hunt. 

'They made it up. It's so blatantly false. If they can do this to us they can do it to anybody,' he told the New York Post by phone. 

'Everyone knows that the Southern District is really the sovereign district. They do their own things. They went after Rudy Giuliani. They do what they want to do and it's politically motivated.' 

Brian Kolfage and wife display lavish lifestyle with boats and cars
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The GoFundMe initiative had raised more than $25million after it was backed by Republican donors in support of the border wall. 

A section of a three-mile private border wall is seen along the bank of the Rio Grande river in Mission, Texas, U.S., February 11, 2020. Mexico is seen on the right side of this image

A section of a three-mile private border wall is seen along the bank of the Rio Grande river in Mission, Texas, U.S., February 11, 2020. Mexico is seen on the right side of this image

In his interview with the Post, Kolfage also denied that his wife Ashley had received money from the scheme and claimed he is able to support his 'good middle class family' from the payouts he receives from the Department of Veteran Affairs. 

'I'm not living a lavish life by any freaking means,' he said. 'Thank God I have a house that was given to me by the Gary Sinise Foundation.' 

Prior to the scandal, Kolfage had been hailed as a decorated war hero after he was nearly killed and lost an arm and both his legs in a rocket attack in Iraq on September 11, 2004.

Initially, Kolfage was celebrated by members of both parties.

In March, he told Reuters he had begun accepting $10,000 a month in salary from the wall organization, saying the amount was modest compared to salaries paid by other nonprofits of that size.

Actually, according to the indictment, he had received a one-time payment of $100,000 as early as February 2019, plus $20,000 a month routed through a Bannon nonprofit and corporations that were supposedly working on the wall project. 

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