A federal grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on numerous charges, including funneling money to white hate groups.
The indictment includes 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.
“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”
Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including:
Ku Klux Klan United Klans of America Unite the Right National Alliance National Socialist Movement Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party) American Front According to the indictment, the objective of the scheme and artifice was to obtain money via donations through materially false representations and omissions about what the donated funds would be used for.In order to covertly pay the individuals, the SPLC opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities. The covert nature of the accounts allowed the SPLC to disguise the true nature, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained donated money the SPLC paid the individuals. In order to keep the scheme going, the SPLC made a series of false statements related to the operation of the accounts.
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