The Justice Department said Tuesday it has secured a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, adding new allegations about how the organization’s tax-exempt donations were used to fund informants inside extremist groups.
A grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama alleges the group used roughly $4.1 million to pay individuals embedded in hate organizations, who prosecutors say then took part in activities including recruiting members and obtaining materials linked to cross burnings and Ku Klux Klan regalia.
The updated indictment reportedly removes language referring to “false or misleading” statements to banks, following a Supreme Court ruling in Thompson v. United States clarifying that the relevant statute applies only to false statements. It also adds additional detail on the SPLC’s reported revenues from public filings that were not included in the original charging document.
The SPLC faces 11 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with prosecutors alleging it defrauded donors and banks by routing funds through shell accounts to individuals inside the groups it publicly opposed. The organization has pleaded not guilty and recently moved to dismiss the case, calling it a vindictive prosecution.
