Miramar man sentenced on fraud charges for “We Build the Wall” donations

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A man was sentenced to over four years in prison after pleading guilty to tax and fraud charges.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 41-year-old Brian G. Kolfage was accused of filing false income tax returns for the 2019 tax year.

Officials say Kolfage admitted that between Jan. 2019 and July 2020, he engaged in a scheme to defraud his tax returns and received hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple organizations during 2019, including We Build the Wall, Inc., and deposited them into his personal bank account.

Upon learning of the investigation into his tax returns, Kolfage had filed amended tax returns that were also proven to be false. These returns continue to fail reporting the income coming from We Build the Wall.

Kolfage was reported to have also spent his unreported income on personal boat payments, a luxury SUV, jewelry, and cosmetic surgery.

Kolfage’s federal prison sentence will be followed by 3 years of supervised release and will also be required to pay restitution to the United States in the amount of $143,003, along with millions worth of restitution for his scheme to defraud We Build the Wall donors.