SPLC pleads not guilty in donor fraud case

The Southern Poverty Law Center appeared in federal court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to an eleven-count indictment that accuses the organization of defrauding donors  by donating to hate groups. 

According to prosecutors, the alleged conduct took place from at least 2014 through August 2023 and involved more than $3 million in payments routed through a network of individuals tied to extremist organizations. The indictment includes six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, reports Courthouse News.

“Donors gave their money believing they were supporting the fight against violent extremism,” acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson said in a statement following the indictment. “As alleged, the SPLC instead diverted a portion of those funds to benefit individuals and groups they claimed to oppose. That kind of deception undermines public trust and social cohesion.”

Prosecutors allege the organization recruited or paid so-called “field sources” who held roles in groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, National Alliance, and National Socialist Movement. One alleged source is accused of being involved in planning communications linked to the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The indictment also claims that payments were concealed through the use of bank accounts opened under names prosecutors say were fictitious entities, including “Center Investigative Agency,” “Fox Photography,” “North West Technologies,” “Tech Writers Group,” and “Rare Books Warehouse.” Authorities allege these accounts were used to disguise transfers and obscure the origins and recipients of donor funds.

The SPLC has denied wrongdoing and entered a not guilty plea at arraignment. “The charges against the SPLC are provably wrong,” attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement. “They are based on inaccurate facts and inapplicable law.”