politics
Justice Dept. Says It Has Obtained Superseding Indictment Against Southern Poverty Law Center With New Details on Donor Funds
The Justice Department said Tuesday it obtained a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center that contained new allegations about how its donations were purportedly used to pay informants inside hate groups.
TL;DR
- The Justice Department has obtained a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
- The indictment alleges that $4.1 million in tax-exempt funds were used to pay informants within extremist organizations.
- These payments allegedly involved recruiting new members and purchasing materials for hate group activities.
- The SPLC faces 11 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Prosecutors claim the SPLC defrauded donors and banks by using shell accounts to funnel money to insiders within hate groups.
- The SPLC denies the charges, stating it did not lie to donors or mislead banks and that its informant program prevented violence.
- The superseding indictment removes potentially problematic language about 'misleading statements' to banks, following a Supreme Court ruling.
- New details about the SPLC's revenue from public tax filings are included in the updated indictment.