Former Southern Poverty Law Center executive indicted in donor fraud case

Heidi Beirich, a former chief financial officer of the Southern Poverty Law Center who for two decades ran the group's extremism research arm, was arrested Wednesday morning in California and charged with fraud in a superseding indictment unsealed the same day.

Beirich, 59, faces counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to make false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to conceal money laundering, CBS News reported. CNN first reported the arrest.

Prosecutors allege the SPLC told donors and banks it was working to dismantle white supremacist and extremist organizations while instead funneling money to confidential informants embedded inside them. Court documents cited by CBS News say those payments helped fund violent and racist activity. Investigators put the total at more than $4 million, according to WORLD.

The indictment alleges Beirich oversaw the payments and was romantically involved with one of the informants she paid, sharing a bank account with him, The Washington Post reported.

Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the arrest at a news conference, saying he believed Beirich took part in an effort to open accounts under fictitious company names and make payments described inaccurately. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that the superseding indictment follows an FBI investigation conducted with Justice Department partners.

The charge marks the first time an individual connected to the civil rights nonprofit has been charged in the case, which the Justice Department announced earlier this year. The organization faces 11 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering and has pleaded not guilty.

Beirich's attorney, Michael J. Proctor, said his client is innocent and the case is without merit, describing the charges against her and the organization as politically motivated and tied to her work tracking hate groups, according to CNN.

The SPLC has accused the Justice Department of targeting it as part of a retribution campaign against President Donald Trump's political opponents, Deseret News reported. The group has said the payments were made to prevent violence.

Beirich joined the SPLC as a writer in 1999 and left in December 2019.