A former senior official at the Southern Poverty Law Center has been arrested in California as federal prosecutors expand their criminal case into the nonprofit’s alleged use of donor funds to pay informants operating inside extremist organizations.
Heidi Beirich, who previously led the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, was taken into custody Wednesday and charged in a superseding federal indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to make false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering. The allegations represent a major escalation in a case that has already placed the Alabama-based organization under intense federal scrutiny.
The charges do not simply concern the SPLC’s decision to use informants. Prosecutors allege the organization concealed the financial arrangements from donors and financial institutions while routing millions of dollars through accounts established under fictitious business names.
