The more the merrier? When it comes to interstate fraud, that may be more true than the Southern Poverty Law Center knows. And more than it can withstand, too.
The SPLC already faces a federal criminal indictment alleging fraud and money laundering in its use of donor funds to pay off hate-group leaders and organizers, including the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. So far, the Department of Justice has only indicted the organization and not any of its leaders. However, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has just announced a new civil fraud probe of the SPLC and its leadership, and that may make matters for the SPLC even more complicated:
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched an investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center Monday, piggybacking off federal charges filed against the organization.
The Justice Department announced bank fraud charges against the organization on April 21 over alleged money the nonprofit paid to confidential informants inside organizations it was investigating and imposing, including the Ku Klux Klan.
Uthmeier’s investigation circles the same issue, demanding communications with donors about the law center’s practices of using informants, documentation of the amount of donations from Florida residents, a list of legal entities the organization uses for fundraising, and payments the organization made to informants.
“The SPLC raises millions in charitable donations every year, while allegedly paying members and leaders within the very groups it purports to fight,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “SPLC appears to be running a deceptive organization that pays informants to manufacture racism on its behalf. If these allegations are true, there will be consequences.”
One might ask: What does this matter if the DoJ is already pursuing criminal charges against the SPLC? Our friend Shipwreckedcrew, a former federal prosecutor, calls this a very big deal. In fact, Ship thinks this is just the start of something much bigger:
Annnnnnnd away we go!!
Charities are regulated by the AGs of all 50 states since they raise tax-deductible money in all 50 states.
So, this is likely the first of MANY AG investigations into civil violations of state tax codes.
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we… https://t.co/3iD1VFMsyk
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) May 4, 2026
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of zealots.
FACT CHECK: True enough!
This gets to a debate that started with the initial indictment. The SPLC has defended itself by insisting that (a) they were acting in the same manner as law enforcement and intelligence agencies do, and (b) they were buying information rather than funding operations. The SPLC will likely also argue (c) that they acted as journalists to some extent, paying sources for key data. The amount of money spent and the role of the sources won’t matter as long as they can establish a reasonable doubt that the entire scheme operated as an Astroturfed hate campaign.
However, that’s the public-relations case against the SPLC. The DoJ and Uthmeier seem to be taking the Al Capone approach to gangsterism rather than a frontal attack on its financial model. They’re going after the money and the way the SPLC moved it to prevent its funding of hate-group leaders and events from coming to the surface. Prosecutors can leave the moral case to the public sphere and focus on taxes and money laundering, which are much easier to document and prove.
That makes the entry of Florida’s AG into the case so interesting. If the SPLC got this sloppy and corrupt in regard to money movement and shell companies to act as fronts for its Astroturfing at the federal level, it seems like a slam-dunk that the group left itself even more liable on state tax issues. That doesn’t necessarily mean worse consequences than in the federal case, but it creates a parallel set of consequences that will amplify those from the federal case. The effect will become cumulative.
Now imagine if ten state Attorneys General opened up civil and/or criminal fraud probes. The effect will be geometric if not exponential, not to mention how it will sap whatever resources the SPLC has in defending itself in these investigations and subsequent indictments and judgments. Small wonder Ship celebrated last night after learning of Uthmeier’s move.
The SPLC’s woes are just beginning. Let’s hope they continue to worsen.
The latest episode of The Ed Morrissey Show podcast is now up! Today’s show features:
- Based on the coverage of the war in Iran so far, we’re at Year 11 with no end in sight.
- Andrew Malcolm and I return to review the media’s relentless pessimism, and how Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are pushing back – hard. We discuss Andrew’s tribute to Mitch McConnell and how the GOP may miss him more than they think.
- We also wonder whether CNN is violating child labor laws in selecting panelists, and why Adam Mockler should be grateful that Scott Jennings didn’t take a page out of Joe Biden’s book last week.
The Ed Morrissey Show is now a fully downloadable and streamable show at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the TEMS Podcast YouTube channel, and on Rumble and our own in-house portal at the #TEMS page!
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