The federal government has tied Russian traitor, insurrectionist, and fraudster -- Jeffrey Epstein's Steve Bannon -- to a criminal organization, which is exactly right, per our previous reporting, supported by totally different criminal allegations specified by the federal government and the Daily Beast.
"A superseding indictment against Steve Bannon’s embattled sugar daddy alleges that multiple outfits the duo co-founded—as well as ill-starred social media app Gettr—were part of a criminal consortium that bilked Chinese dissidents living abroad.
The new details come out of an updated criminal complaint against Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, who caught charges last year for allegedly defrauding his followers with a bogus crypto scheme and using their money to buy a mansion, a yacht, multiple foreign-built luxury vehicles, ornamental rugs, and even a “$53,000 fireplace log cradle holder.”
The new document, filed on Wednesday, for the first time lists dozens of entities that the Department of Justice alleges formed part of the “Kwok Enterprise,” named for one of Guo’s alter egos, Ho Wan “Miles” Kwok.
This list features several investment vehicles and various arms of the sprawling multilingual media operation Guo and Bannon used to depict themselves and their allies as messianic crusaders against the Chinese Communist Party—as well as companies connected to the “farm” network that The Daily Beast reported in 2021 amassed money from supporters for dubious investments. But perhaps the most notable name of all those is Gettr—the “free speech” social media platform formerly helmed by Trump advisor Jason Miller and which The Daily Beast revealed shortly after its launch was funded by Guo, and the twin nonprofits the Rule of Law Foundation and Rule of Law Society.
Bannon launched the two similarly named groups with Guo in 2019 for the ostensible purpose of revealing abuses by Beijing—but they quickly turned toward spreading misinformation, including about the origins of COVID-19. Bannon, who has not been charged in the case and whose spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has since formally stepped away from the two groups.
But the revised indictment also lists another operation which the former White House chief strategist midwifed into existence—the New Federal State of China, a putative shadow government for a future democratic China which Bannon and Guo announced from the deck of a boat in New York Harbor in 2020. This entity for a time even operated an ersatz embassy in Manhattan where the pair reportedly maintained offices.
“The defendants and entities set forth in paragraph 3a., together with others known and unknown, were members and associates of a criminal organization (the ‘Kwok Enterprise’) that engaged in criminal activity, to include wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud,” the charging document reads directly under the list. “The Kwok Enterprise constituted an ongoing organization whose members functioned as a continuing unit for the common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise.”
The complaint does not describe specifically how each of these entities assisted Guo’s alleged conspiracy “to defraud thousands of victims of more than approximately $1 billion.” The document largely reiterates previous fraud claims, while rolling two prior international money-laundering charges into a single conspiracy accusation.
Gettr did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
Bannon is separately being accused of fraud in the "border wall" taxpayer funding scheme.
"Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been arrested and charged with fraud over a fundraising campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
Mr Bannon and three others defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with the "We Build the Wall" campaign, which raised $25m (£19m), the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said.
Mr Bannon received more than $1m, at least some of which he used to cover personal expenses, it alleged.
In court, he entered a not guilty plea.
Mr Bannon, who has been released on bail, was a key architect of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election victory. His right-wing anti-immigration ideology fuelled Mr Trump's "America First" campaign.
He was arrested on a 150-foot (45m) yacht called the Lady May in Connecticut by agents from the US Postal Inspection Service, which investigates fraud cases.
The yacht is owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, US media report.
Mr Bannon is the sixth former senior aide to Donald Trump to face criminal charges - after ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, veteran political operator Roger Stone, ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, ex-deputy campaign manager Rick Gates and ex-National Security
Responding to Mr Bannon's arrest, President Trump said he felt "very badly" about it. He also said he had had no involvement with "We Build the Wall".
"I said, 'This is for government; this isn't for private people' - and it sounded to me like showboating and I think I let my opinion be very strongly stated at the time," he said.
What are the charges against Bannon?
The "We Build the Wall" campaign pledged to use donations to build segments of the border barrier - whose construction was a key Trump promise during the 2016 election - on private land.
But Audrey Strauss, the acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), said Mr Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea had "defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalising on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretence that all of that money would be spent on construction".
Mr Bannon had received more than $1m through a non-profit organisation he controlled, at least some of which he used to cover "hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon's personal expenses", the DoJ said.
Meanwhile, Mr Kolfage - founder of "We Build the Wall" - covertly took $350,000 for his personal use, the statement said.
"While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle," Ms Strauss said.
SDNY Inspector-in-Charge Philip R Bartlett said the four created "sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth".
We Build the Wall image from We Build the Wall websiteWe Build the Wall
The campaign exhorted individuals to "buy a brick"
"This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist," he said.
Mr Bannon and the three others launched the scheme in December 2018, the DoJ said, and during the campaign Mr Kolfage said that all of the money donated would go towards construction while Mr Bannon publicly said: "We're a volunteer organisation."
All four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Mr Bannon, 66, appeared in federal court via video link hours after his arrest on Thursday. Mr Kolfage and Mr Badolato will appear in separate courts in Florida and Mr Shea will appear in Colorado.
Mr Bannon was released on bail of $5m, secured by $1.75m in cash or property. He will not be allowed to travel on private planes or boats or to leave the country pending his criminal trial.
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The line between legitimate online political fundraising and swindling is sometimes a fine one. Federal prosecutors are now alleging that Steve Bannon, a former top political advisor for Donald Trump, crossed it.
Mr Bannon was one of those fringe figures who rode Trump's improbable rise to the presidency to national prominence. His time in actual power at the White House was short-lived, however.
Donald Trump reportedly resented news reports painting Mr Bannon as the "brains" behind the president - a perception boosted by Mr Bannon's willingness to talk with the press.
Since then he mostly has been confined to advocating for the president from the sidelines - and participating in sometimes questionable side projects like this wall foundation.
That this indictment comes out of the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutorial office that has handled other high-profile cases involving Trump associates, will stir greater interest in the indictment. The district was itself the source of recent controversy when Attorney General Bill Barr abruptly fired its head, Geoffrey Berman.
After criticism, Mr Barr was forced to abandon his choice for a temporary replacement, and Mr Berman's top deputy moved into the job, instead …
The wall with Mexico is perhaps Donald Trump's most memorable signature promise from his 2016 election campaign. He said he would build it and Mexico would pay for it.
Before Mr Trump took office, there were 654 miles (just over 1,000km) of barrier along the southern border. He promised to build a wall along the border's entire 2,000-mile length. Later, he said it would only cover half of that - with nature, such as mountains and rivers, helping to take care of the rest.
The money has come from previous funding approved by Congress, as well as extra cash Mr Trump has been able to access since he declared a state of emergency in February 2019 amid a spike in the number of migrants entering the US.
He has gained access to defence funds, but is still short of the original estimate of up to $12bn which, in turn, is far shorter than much higher estimates of the real cost.”"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53853297
Separately, Jeffrey Epstein's Steve Bannon overtly furthered the ongoing criminal treason and elections fraud conspiracy with America's #1 enemy, Russia, at Cambridge Analytica of Jeffrey Epstein's UK royals' SCL Group, and Bannon also played a role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, which overtly furthered his treason with Russia to "engineer" Trump into office.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon
Separately, like Jeffrey Epstein's Trump, and ICC's child (sex) trafficker Putin, linked by the Trump Tower meeting with Russia's sanctions lawyer, 06/09/2016, regarding trafficking children from Russia to Jeffrey Epstein's Trump family -- Steve Bannon also had strong ties to child rapist and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein per our previous reporting.
Accordingly, here again our previous reporting aligns with federal indictments in that Steve Bannon is definitely part of a sprawling and ongoing criminal enterprise, and beyond a reasonable doubt is what the evidence, his conduct, and his affiliations propose.
[1] Photo: https://unsplash.com/@theandersons