Former SPLC Intelligence Project director charged in superseding indictment tied to broader fraud case against civil rights group

Federal prosecutors unsealed a superseding indictment on Wednesday charging Heidi Beirich, a former director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with an ongoing criminal case against the Alabama-based nonprofit in Montgomery, Alabama. Beirich, 59, of Palm Springs, California, is the first individual connected to the SPLC to face charges in the case.

The SPLC itself was charged in April with 11 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering; the organization pleaded not guilty. A federal judge earlier in August denied the SPLC's motion to dismiss the indictment on vindictive-prosecution grounds, finding that lawyers for the group had not offered sufficient evidence of prosecutorial animus, according to CBS News.

Prosecutors allege the SPLC told donors and banks it was dismantling white supremacist and extremist organizations while instead funneling payments to confidential informants inside those groups to fund what the government characterizes as 'violent, racist and extremist activities.' The indictment alleges that $4.1 million in donations were used to pay informants, and that some of the money went toward recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies, according to The Independent.

Beirich is alleged to have overseen payments to informants, including one with whom she had a romantic relationship. The indictment states that during that alleged relationship the two shared a home and two bank accounts, through which $140,000 flowed from an SPLC-operated account into their joint accounts between 2015 and 2021, according to CBS News. She allegedly used some of the funds for personal living expenses.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charge at a press conference in Washington but did not name Beirich, according to The Independent. CBS News reports that Blanche mistakenly identified Beirich as the SPLC's 'former CFO' at the press conference; she had in fact served as director of the Intelligence Project. The Independent similarly describes her role as chief financial officer in its headline but characterizes her within the article as head of the Intelligence Project.

The superseding indictment filed in June appears to refer to Beirich as 'Employee-2' and by her former title as director of the Intelligence Project, according to The Independent. Beirich joined the SPLC as a writer in 1999 and left in December 2019, according to CBS News citing her LinkedIn profile. She co-founded the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism in 2020 and has testified before Congress on far-right extremism.

The Independent reports Beirich was expected to make her first court appearance in Riverside, California, on Wednesday. CBS News reports her arraignment is scheduled for August 19, citing the case docket, and that CNN first reported her arrest.

CBS News reports that the Justice Department's original probe began in 2018 under Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a preliminary FBI inquiry into an SPLC chief financial officer suspected of embezzlement; the case was expanded in 2019 under Attorney General Bill Barr to examine possible tax charges and the SPLC's bank accounts and informant payments. Tax charges were never filed, and that former CFO has not been criminally charged. IRS agents found the CFO had created shell bank accounts with assistance from at least some bank employees.

Where sources differ

• The Independent's headline and introductory framing describes Beirich as the SPLC's 'former CFO,' while CBS News reports that Attorney General Blanche mistakenly called her the former CFO and that she actually served as director of the Intelligence Project — a distinction CBS News treats as a factual error by Blanche.
• The Independent states Beirich was expected to appear in court in Riverside, California, on Wednesday; CBS News reports her arraignment is scheduled for August 19, citing the case docket. The sources do not explicitly reconcile these two dates.

• Neither source establishes whether the informants named in the indictment have been charged or have cooperated with prosecutors.
• The identity of the informant with whom Beirich allegedly had a romantic relationship is not disclosed in either source.
• The specific basis for the August 19 arraignment date versus an expected Wednesday appearance in Riverside is not reconciled by either source.
• Neither source reports any response from Beirich's Global Project Against Hate and Extremism; The Independent notes the organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
• The former SPLC CFO who was the original focus of the investigation has not been criminally charged; neither source explains why or whether that inquiry remains active.
• Neither source details what evidence prosecutors intend to present at trial or when the trial is scheduled.

1. The Independent — original — by Michael Kunzelman
2. CBS News — by Jacob Rosen

Read the original at The Independent

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