Bid to move case tied to Bannon org

An energy drink entrepreneur charged with funneling money from a “We Build the Wall” nonprofit controlled by Steve Bannon wants the case transferred out of New York.

Timothy Shea, the businessman behind the Winning Energy drink, argued in a new filing Thursday that the case should be moved to his home state of Colorado or Florida, where the We Build the Wal founder lives.

Shea is accused of establishing a shell company to funnel $20,000 per month starting in April 2019 to Brian Kolfage. The triple-amputee Air Force veteran founded We Build the Wall as a way for private citizens to fund President Trump’s signature policy of a wall on the Mexico border. Kolfage allegedly skimmed more than $350,000 total in donations.

Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who joined the nonprofit, skimmed more than $1 million, prosecutors say.

Shea’s attorney John Meringolo wrote that the allegations against the businessman had nothing to do with New York.

“Throughout all times of the alleged conspiracy, Mr. Shea resided in Castle Rock, Colorado,” Meringolo wrote.

“This court’s connection to the legal and factual issues presented by the indictment is remote, technical, and wholly attenuated from the events, activities and witnesses associated with the alleged conspiracy ... The entirety of the We Build the Wall campaign was focused on areas well outside the Southern District of New York — the Mexico-United States borders.”

A trial in New York would also interfere with Shea’s management of his start-up energy drink company, the filing argued. Winning Energy markets itself as “The Official Fuel of Winners 12 oz. Energy Drink Ultra Hydrating Liberal Tears Made in America.”

Meringolo, who has won two high-profile acquittals in Manhattan Federal Court since 2018, represented John “Junior” Gotti in a successful effort to transfer a racketeering case from Florida to Manhattan.

Bannon was infamously arrested aboard a yacht owned by an exiled Chinese billionaire.