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| Fifth Column |
| Southern Poverty Law Center's leaders allegedly used major bank to fund pay-to-hate operation |
| 2026-07-02 |
| [FoxNews] US officials: Ex-CFO Teenie Hutchison, ex-research chief Heidi Beirich and ex-CEO Margaret Huang allegedly kept scheme secret A pair of former top executives at the Southern Poverty Law Center used a network of checking accounts to secretly funnel $4.1 million to extremists, including one nicknamed "The Aryan Barbarian," in a long-running pay-to-hate scheme, federal officials told Fox News Digital. The SPLC's former chief financial officer Teenie Hutchison and ex-Intelligence Project chief Heidi Beirich allegedly created the accounts at Synovus Bank in 2008, making the beleaguered nonprofit’s trusted bank a hub for diverting supporters' donations to sketchy groups, sources said. The network ultimately supported secret payments to as many as 50 confidential "field sources," called "Fs," embedded within extremist organizations around the country. Some 13 field sources have so far been identified in court filings. "The SPLC found its niche, and its leaders built a fiefdom with donations they got like crazy," former NYPD intelligence official, attorney and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said. A spokesperson for Synovus Bank told Fox News Digital that the lender, based in Columbus, Ga., is working with federal investigators in the "ongoing investigation." "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific client relationships," the spokesperson said. "We have cooperated fully with the ongoing investigation and will continue to do so." Hutchison, Beirich and Huang didn't respond to repeated requests for comment. In late May, the SPLC filed a motion to dismiss the case. On June 9, days after the U.S. government filed a superseding indictment against the SPLC, the nonprofit's interim president and chief executive officer, Bryan Fair, denied any wrongdoing by the SPLC during a fiery hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. The allegations sit at the center of a federal case accusing the SPLC of bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sources familiar with the investigation say additional charges will likely be filed against individual executives and former executives of the nonprofit. Fox News Digital's investigation unpacks the government’s theory of the alleged operation through the traditional three stages of money laundering: placement, layering and integration. In the first stage of placement, U.S. officials say Hutchison and Beirich created and controlled a hidden financial infrastructure at SPLC that became the entry point for $4.1 million in allegedly illicit payments made to so-called field sources. In the second stage, layering involves moving money through multiple accounts, transactions and entities, like a series of bank accounts Hutchison and Beirich allegedly set up for fake companies, designed to obscure the money's origin. Finally, in the third stage, integration occurs when the proceeds or products of an operation become absorbed into legitimate activities, like the organization's "Extremist Files," and become difficult to distinguish from ordinary business operations. According to federal prosecutors, the SPLC's alleged operation involved all three stages. Former SPLC Chief Executive Officer Margaret Huang allegedly signed a letter acknowledging the operation to Synovus bank officials in September 2021 before ending her tenure at the SPLC in July 2025. SPLC supporters have characterized the payment recipients as "informants," and they included a right-wing extremist behind the infamous 2017 "Unite the Right" protests in Charlottesville, Va. "The government can run informants," said Mauro. "Private industry cannot." The new revelations show the federal investigation of the SPLC is significantly larger than initially reported and was orchestrated at the organization's highest level. Beirich was previously believed to be involved in the alleged payments, but this is the first time federal officials have confirmed her involvement. The new details about the SPLC case emerge as the Trump administration's Justice Department intensifies scrutiny of influential nonprofit organizations. Earlier this week, Fox News Digital reported exclusively that federal prosecutors launched a grand jury investigation into Shanghai-based Marxist tech mogul Neville Roy Singham over possible illegality in his funding of left-wing activist groups. Together, the two federal investigations signal an aggressive effort by the administration to examine whether certain organizations are using their nonprofit status to conceal financial operations. Related: Southern Poverty Law Center: 2026-06-03 DOJ expands indictment against SPLC, alleging $4M secretly funneled to KKK and [other] extremist groups Southern Poverty Law Center: 2026-05-22 Massive SPLC-linked grant under fire as watchdog exposes ties to middle school programs Southern Poverty Law Center: 2026-04-29 SPLC's Double Game: Funding extremists while spending millions to swing Southern elections Related: Neville Roy Singham 06/30/2026 Probe into 'subversive' anti-AI Singham network is 'enormous,' former Treasury advisor says Neville Roy Singham 06/30/2026 Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday regained control of Abu Qumra in North Darfur Neville Roy Singham 06/29/2026 DOJ investigating Marxist millionaire Neville Roy Singham over potential financial crimes |
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