Accused Fraudsters Bankrolled Star-Studded MAGA Bash

When Trump-loving youth group Turning Point USA hosted a four-day extravaganza last month featuring right-wing media’s leading lights, it did so with cash from two groups the feds say bilked millions from elderly Republicans and anti-communist emigres from China.

Turning Point USA’s America Fest, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Dec. 16 to Dec. 19, was a who’s who of conservative TV and internet personalities, interspersed with a smattering of failed candidates and elected officials: Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Kari Lake, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck, Mike Lindell, ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dr. Ben Carson, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Trump lawyer Alina Habba all graced the stage. But a big chunk of the cash that produced the pre-holiday pow-wow came from two outfits that allegedly swindled the very voters and activists these figures purported to champion.

The event’s sole “Diamond Sponsor”—reflecting the highest level of support—was Fisher Capital, a precious metals dealer that regulators charged in April 2023 with tricking conservative senior citizens into liquidating their retirement accounts and using the cash to buy gold and silver coins at “grossly inflated prices,” with the enterprise falsely warning its victims that the Federal Reserve or Obama-era regulations would soon sever access to their savings. In the rank directly below Fisher Capital was the New Federal State of China, an organization co-founded by Bannon and indicted Chinese financier Guo Wengui.

Read more at The Daily Beast.