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Crime & Courts

Second Superseding Indictment Adds Heidi L. Beirich and New Charges in SPLC Case

A federal grand jury in Alabama has charged Heidi L. Beirich alongside the Southern Poverty Law Center in an expanded financial fraud case.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 5:25 p.m. ET
On August 12, 2026, official court records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama were unsealed in an open, developing case involving the Southern Poverty Law Center. The second superseding indictment, returned on August 11 by a federal grand jury in Montgomery, adds Heidi L. Beirich, 59, of Palm Springs, California, as a defendant alongside the organization. According to the official court records, Beirich and the Southern Poverty Law Center face new charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank. The indictment also adds Beirich to a previously count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering and charges the organization with an additional count of concealment money laundering. The Southern Poverty Law Center was previously in April 2026 in an 11-count indictment. Prosecutors allege that between 2007 and 2023, more than $4 million in donated funds were secretly funneled to individuals associated with various violent extremist groups using accounts associated with fictitious entities. Beirich was served with an arrest warrant on the morning of August 12, 2026, in the Central District of California, where she was scheduled to make an initial court appearance that afternoon. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin P. Davidson. U.S. Attorney Thomas Govan said, "The indictment unsealed today reflects the continued work of federal investigators and prosecutors in examining this alleged scheme. We look forward to presenting the evidence in court and allowing the judicial process to determine the facts and the defendants’ responsibility for the alleged crimes." The case is currently at the charging stage and remains undecided. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  1. Version 120 Aug 2026, 21:25current

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