Political Fundraising and Nonprofit Controversies, Left and Right, 2017 to 2026

Category 1: criminal conviction or guilty plea.

Federal case. United States v. Kolfage et al., Indictment 20 Cr. 412 (AT), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Analisa Torres. The U.S. Attorney's case page states that on Aug. 20, 2020, the office announced federal charges against Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea in an alleged conspiracy to defraud donors to the “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding campaign, alleging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. On April 21, 2022, Badolato and Kolfage pleaded guilty to Count One; Kolfage also pleaded guilty to Counts One, Two and Three of a second indictment, 22 Cr. 201.^{[1, 2]}

On April 26, 2023, Judge Torres sentenced Kolfage to 51 months and Badolato to 36 months.^[3] On July 25, 2023, the office announced that Shea, 52, of Castle Rock, Colo., “was convicted after trial of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of justice” and was sentenced to 63 months, three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $1,801,707 and restitution of $1,801,707. The release states that the campaign “raised more than $25,000,000”; that Kolfage “repeatedly and falsely assured the public that he would ‘not take a penny in salary or compensation’”; and that he “covertly took for his personal use more than $350,000 in funds that donors had given to We Build the Wall.”^[4]

Federal pardon. The New York attorney general's Sept. 8, 2022, release states that on Jan. 20, 2021, Bannon “received a presidential pardon on the federal matter from former President Donald J. Trump.” A federal pardon does not end a separate state prosecution.^[5]

New York case. On Sept. 8, 2022, Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced a grand jury indictment of Bannon and We Build the Wall, Inc., on two counts of money laundering in the second degree, two counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree, one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree and one count of conspiracy in the fifth degree. The release said the defendants “defrauded thousands of donors across the country out of more than $15 million” and that We Build the Wall “paid its president more than $250,000 in 2019, despite the organization's promises to the contrary.”^{[5, 6]}

State plea. In a plea agreement dated February 2025, People v. Stephen Bannon, Indictment No. 73554/2022, Bannon agreed to plead guilty to Count Five, scheme to defraud in the first degree, Penal Law § 190.65(1)(a), a class E felony, in full satisfaction of the indictment, and to admit a scheme from about Jan. 11, 2019, to about Dec. 31, 2019. The district attorney agreed to recommend a three-year conditional discharge, with conditions barring him from serving as a fiduciary of, or fundraising for, charitable not-for-profits holding assets in New York and requiring him not to use or sell We Build the Wall donor data. The agreement states that the conviction carries a maximum of one-and-one-third to four years in state prison. The court's judgment entry is not in this source set; the recommended sentence is the district attorney's recommendation as stated in the agreement.^[7]

Category 1: criminal conviction or guilty plea.

The U.S. Attorney's case page states that on Aug. 17, 2023, the office announced an indictment charging Richard Zeitlin with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice in connection with a scheme to defraud donors while soliciting money for certain political action committees. From at least about 2017 through about 2020, it states, Zeitlin used a telemarketing call center and associated entities to give donors misleading and false information about how their money would be spent. Case No. 23 Cr. 419 (LAK), Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.^[8]

On Sept. 10, 2024, Zeitlin pleaded guilty to Count One, conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 2326. The page states he “was sentenced to 121 months' imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture in the amounts of $8,906,760.00.” The official case page does not name the PACs or their political alignment, and this report does not assign one. The case is separate from We Build the Wall and from the NRA civil case.^[8]

Category 2: civil judgment or jury verdict. This is a civil charity-enforcement case, not a criminal conviction.

On Feb. 23, 2024, a New York County jury found the NRA and senior leaders liable in the attorney general's case. The attorney general's release states that the jury found LaPierre “caused the NRA $5.4 million in damages and must pay $4.35 million,” that Wilson Phillips “was ordered to pay $2 million in damages,” that the NRA failed to properly administer charitable funds and violated whistleblower protections, and that Frazer and the NRA were liable for false statements on regulatory filings.^[10]

The attorney general's later release says LaPierre and Phillips “together, caused the organization $7.4 million in monetary harm,” and that before the second stage of trial, Phillips settled and “agreed to a 10-year ban from serving as a fiduciary of a not-for-profit in New York.” That ban is described by the attorney general; the settlement document is not in this source set.^[12]

Bankruptcy dismissal. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, dismissed the NRA's Chapter 11 case, No. 21-30085 (HDH), in an order signed May 11, 2021. The court agreed with the New York attorney general that “the NRA is using this bankruptcy case to address a regulatory enforcement problem, not a financial one,” found that the petition was not filed in good faith, and dismissed the cases without prejudice.^[13]

Category 4: documented spending scrutiny, without a criminal or civil judgment.

The Lincoln Project, FEC committee C00725820, is a hybrid PAC with a non-contribution account. FEC records list Claire Dewar as treasurer and a first filing date of Nov. 5, 2019.^[21]

Two sets of figures that do not match. The Associated Press, in a Feb. 12, 2021, article, reported that the Lincoln Project had raised $90 million, that roughly $27 million directly paid for advertisements during the 2020 campaign, and that more than $50 million had gone to firms controlled by the group's leaders, “including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Lincoln Project member Ron Steslow, campaign finance disclosures show.”^[22] The FEC by-recipient totals for the exact names Summit Strategic Communications LLC and Tusk Digital, above, are smaller. The difference has not been itemized: it may reflect other vendor names, pass-through payments, later amendments or different date cuts. Both sets of figures are printed here; neither is adjusted to match the other.

An earlier OpenSecrets analysis, on May 22, 2020, reported nearly $1 million already paid to Summit Strategic Communications, “a firm run by Lincoln Project treasurer Reed Galen,” and $215,000 to Tusk Digital, “a company run by Lincoln Project adviser Ron Steslow.”^[23]

The same AP article reported on harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver. That is a separate personnel matter, not a finding about spending. No criminal case against The Lincoln Project is in this source set.^[22]

Category 3: regulator inquiries and FEC matters, not findings of fraud.

Four-state inquiry. Connecticut's attorney general says Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota and New York opened an investigation in 2021 into WinRed and ActBlue and whether pre-checked recurring-donation boxes complied with state consumer-protection laws. WinRed sued the states. New York's attorney general announced that a court dismissed WinRed's claims that the states lacked jurisdiction, “thereby allowing their investigations into WinRed to continue,” and said, “No company has the right to use politics as an excuse for misleading consumers.”^{[16, 14]}

Eighth Circuit. In WinRed, Inc. v. Ellison, No. 22-1238, filed Feb. 7, 2023, a panel of Chief Judge Smith and Judges Benton and Shepherd affirmed the dismissal of WinRed's request for a declaratory judgment and preliminary injunction against the Minnesota attorney general. Judge Benton's opinion describes WinRed as a “conduit” political action committee and holds that federal election law does not preempt Minnesota's consumer-protection investigation; “the investigation may proceed.” Judge Shepherd wrote separately that he believed the case was not ripe.^[15]

Connecticut. Attorney General William Tong said Superior Court Judge Cesar A. Noble required WinRed Technical Services to comply with the state's investigation, while WinRed PAC continued to challenge jurisdiction. “All consumers-- regardless of political affiliation-- are protected in Connecticut against deceptive and unfair marketing practices,” Tong said.^[16]

Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton said that in December 2023 he opened an investigation into ActBlue, with a major focus on its failure to require card CVV codes, and on Aug. 8, 2024, that ActBlue had cooperated and changed its requirements to include CVV codes. That is an inquiry and a described policy change, not a fraud judgment.^[17]

FEC matters. MUR 7959 arose from a 2022 complaint that ActBlue charged unauthorized recurring contributions; ActBlue responded that it processes only contributions authorized by the contributor, and the Enforcement Priority System report placed the matter on the dismissal track. MUR 8299 is a donor's Aug. 8, 2024, complaint that a monthly ActBlue donation to the Biden campaign continued to be charged after the president left the race; no Commission finding on it is in this source set. MUR 8090 is a Nov. 14, 2022, Campaign Legal Center complaint alleging that Donald Trump and his leadership PAC, Save America, violated federal soft-money limits by directing $20 million to the super PAC Make America Great Again, Inc. It is a complaint, not a Commission or Justice Department finding.^{[18, 19, 20]}

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (category 4). The national foundation's Forms 990, insider and family payments, real estate, state charity notices and a dismissed civil lawsuit are covered in the companion report, Black Lives Matter's national foundation: what the tax filings, property records, and court files show. There is no criminal conviction of the foundation in that record.

Sir Maejor Page and Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (category 1). A separate Georgia organization. In United States v. Page, No. 24-3871, decided Dec. 30, 2025, the Sixth Circuit affirmed Page's conviction for wire fraud and money laundering and a below-Guidelines sentence of 42 months on each count, concurrent. The court wrote that between May and September 2020, “more than $490,000 in donations flowed into” BLMGA's account, and that Page used $108,499.83 from it to buy a house in Toledo. This is not a judgment against the Global Network Foundation.^[9]