‘Keep America Great Committee’ Founder Admits Swindling Trump Fans
The Nevada man made off with more than $500,000 in fraudulent donations, and got more than $1 million in phony PPP loans, to boot.
Carlos Barria/File Photo via Reuters
James Kyle Bell, whose “Keep America Great Committee” was outed by The Daily Beast earlier this year for masquerading as an official Trump campaign PAC and defrauding Trump supporters into donating at least $500,000, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to federal court filings made public on Monday.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but prosecutors stated in a letter to Bell’s lawyer that they will seek between 78 and 97 months for Bell, along with a fine of $25,000 to $250,000. As part of his plea, Bell also admitted to deceiving the government out of more than $1 million in phony Paycheck Protection Program loans intended to help employers avoid laying off staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to his Trumpian chicanery, Bell also created a phony pro-Biden group called the “Best Days Lie Ahead” committee, which prosecutors say fraudulently took in some $100,000 in donations but returned them all after the organization was bounced from its online fundraising portal.
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