The former director of intelligence and chief financial officer for the indicted Southern Poverty Law Center was herself indicted and arrested Wednesday in California on allegations she oversaw payments to informants who infiltrated white supremacist organizations.
Reports indicate she was living with and sharing a romantic relationship with one of those.
Authorities say Heidi Beirich, who helped run the SPLC’s project labeling organizations as “hate” groups across the U.S., even shared a bank account with one of the informants.
“I believe she was part of the effort to open bank accounts in completely fictitious companies’ names and make payments to individuals for reasons that that were not accurate as described,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
“This is exactly what we said would happen in a case like this, which is that our investigators and the US attorneys and the agents working the case will can keep on working it even after the initial indictment.”
The SPLC itself separately has been indicted on related charges, and a judge just days ago refused its demand that the case be dismissed because of its claims of vindictive prosecution.
Beirich’s counts include wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.
Her lawyer denied there was any wrongdoing whatsoever.
Prosecutors are alleging that the SPLC took money from donors, telling them it was to be fighting white supremacy and more, and then used money from those donors to support individuals inside those very groups.
The federal charges detail how Beirich had a romantic relationship with one of those informants.
🚨 BREAKING: The DOJ has ARRESTED the former CFO of the Southern Poverty Law Center on FRAUD CHARGES, AG Blanche confirms
Heidi Beirich was in charge of secretly paying donor money to “White supremacist groups,” and ran SPLC’s project tracking “hate groups” in the US
BEAUTIFUL! pic.twitter.com/0BNgRxnvtB
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 12, 2026
Following an FBI investigation with our DOJ partners: today we are announcing a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Director of Intelligence, Heidi Beirich.
As alleged, Heidi Beirich was at the center of our ongoing investigation into SPLC and their…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) August 12, 2026
Unsealed: the indictment of former SPLC CFO Heidi Beirich
She dated/lived with a neo-Nazi and used donor funds laundered through a fake company to enrich them both
She created fake companies to launder donor money to hate groups and structured transactions to avoid oversight pic.twitter.com/INWP6MCMGa
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 12, 2026
A report from CBS said the case marks the first time an individual linked to the SPLC, which describes itself as a civil rights promoter, has been charged in the case.
She is to be arraigned August 19.
Among Beirich’s duties for the SPLC were work on the organization’s Intelligence Project.
