UMVA has learned that a shocking scandal has rocked the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a organization once revered for its mission to combat hate and extremism.
The Department of Justice has dropped a devastating superseding indictment against the SPLC, alleging that the organization secretly funneled millions of dollars in tax-exempt donor funds to leaders and organizers of violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Alliance.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the SPLC's stated mission was to "dismantle white supremacy," but prosecutors say the organization did the opposite, using donor money to fund extremist activities, recruit new members, and even plan the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
The superseding indictment reveals a years-long scheme involving multiple "field sources" paid through a web of fake companies, including Center Investigative Agency, Rare Books Warehouse, and Tech Writers Group. These entities had no real employees or business, existing solely to launder donor money to extremists.
One of the most damning allegations involves F-9, an informant who received over $1.2 million in donor funds while on the SPLC payroll. This individual infiltrated the neo-Nazi National Alliance, raised money for the group, and even stole documents from an extremist headquarters, which were then used in an SPLC Hatewatch story.
Another informant, F-37, a member of the online leadership chat group that helped plan the Unite the Right rally, received over $300,000 from the SPLC to attend the event and arrange transportation for others. The SPLC then heavily covered the tragedy on its platforms, using it as a fundraising windfall.
The indictment also reveals that F-30, a leader in the National Socialist Party of America and KKK member, was paid over $70,000 to stay in the movement and keep recruiting. He even asked the SPLC to soften the language on his "Extremist File" webpage so it wouldn't scare off new recruits.
To hide the scheme, SPLC employees opened accounts at FDIC-insured banks in the names of completely fictitious entities, submitting false documents and using masked ACH payments to continue paying the informants.
During the period of the alleged fraud, the SPLC's revenue exploded from $38.7 million to $129 million, and its net assets grew to $786 million. The organization has already filed a motion in federal court seeking to dismiss the charges, calling the case "vindictive prosecution."
But the superseding indictment is packed with specific dates, dollar amounts, bank records, and internal details that a Montgomery grand jury found credible enough to charge, raising serious questions about the SPLC's true motives and activities.
