DOJ charges former Southern Poverty Law Center CFO with fraud
The Southern Poverty Law Center's former chief financial officer has been arrested and charged with fraud related to payments made to informants inside hate groups.
Former Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Heidi Beirich was arrested in California on Wednesday and charged with fraud, according to the Department of Justice. In a superseding indictment, she is accused of overseeing fraudulent donor payments to informants inside hate groups, including one with whom she had a romantic relationship and shared a bank account.
Prosecutors allege that Beirich, who previously headed the SPLC's hate groups tracking section, was among several individuals who oversaw payments to informants who infiltrated white supremacist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center has denied allegations that it misled donors and stated that payments to informants were in line with their mission of exposing white supremacist groups. Beirich is the first individual to face criminal charges in connection with the case.
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