A Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) official has been accused of directing over $1.2 million in donor funds to a confidential informant who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization, according to a superseding indictment filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on June 2. The informant was reportedly also in a romantic relationship with the SPLC official.
The indictment alleges that the SPLC's Intelligence Project director, identified only as the person who would become the director, conducted financial transactions between 2015 and 2021. Prosecutors claim that a shell company named "Tech Writers" was used to funnel donor money to the official's partner, who had infiltrated the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group.
The SPLC director, believed to be Heidi L. Beirich, allegedly shared a home with the informant, and significant funds were transferred to a joint bank account used for their living expenses. The indictment states that the SPLC misled donors about the use of their contributions, which were intended to combat extremist groups. Investigators traced approximately $140,000 in donor funds from the SPLC's main operating account through the shell company to the couple's personal account, which accounted for about two-thirds of the funds in that account.