By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has secured a criminal indictment against the former chief financial officer of the Southern Poverty Law Center, adding to its case against the prominent civil rights group.
Heidi Beirich is facing three federal counts, including wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering as prosecutors expand their prosecution of the SPLC over its use of paid informants to infiltrate far-right organizations.
Prosecutors allege Beirich opened bank accounts connected to fictitious entities to disguise the source of the funds. The indictment also alleges Beirich was in a romantic relationship with one of the undercover informants and that donor money flowed into a joint account that was used to pay the couple’s personal living expenses.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to reporters at an unrelated press conference, said the allegations relate to “payments to individuals for reasons that were not accurate as described.”
Michael Proctor, a lawyer for Beirich, said the charges are “without merit” and were brought because of the Trump administration’s opposition to the SPLC. Proctor said Beirich voluntarily appeared in court on Wednesday and plans to fight the allegations.
“We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists,” Proctor said in a statement.
The Justice Department under Trump brought fraud charges against the SPLC in April over the group’s informant program. Prosecutors allege the organization defrauded its donors by raising money under false pretenses and used fake entities to disguise the source of the payments.
The organization has pleaded not guilty and its lawyers have argued the case was brought as retribution for the SPLC’s criticism of the Trump administration and its moves to label certain conservative and right-wing organizations as hate groups.
The SPLC has long tracked political extremists and has said it shared information it learned through the informant program with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
U.S. District Judge Emily Marks on Friday rejected the SPLC’s attempt to have the case thrown out as a vindictive prosecution, making it more likely it will go to trial.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward. Editing by Michael Learmonth and Rod Nickel)
