Federal Grand Jury indicts SPLC on 11 counts of wire fraud and money laundering

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an indictment on April 21, 2026, charging the Southern Poverty Law Center with 11 counts including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The indictment alleged the SPLC paid more than $3 million to informants inside extremist groups through fictitious shell company accounts between 2014 and 2023. The case was brought in the Northern District of Alabama and assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly F. Pate.