Justice Department Turns SPLC Informant F-9 Against Group in Donor Fraud Case
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 28
Justice Department Turns SPLC Informant F-9 Against Group in Donor Fraud Case
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 28
Summary
Court papers filed Wednesday say federal prosecutors recruited F-9—one of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s most active informants—to help build the criminal case against the group.
SPLC lawyers allege the Justice Department exploited F-9’s financial troubles and risk of indictment, pushing him beyond a typical witness role into something closer to the government’s investigative team.
The filing says F-9 had been speaking with investigators since March 2022 during an earlier tax inquiry that ended without charges, and later helped spur a revived probe focused on SPLC’s informant program.
Prosecutors charged SPLC in April with defrauding donors by secretly funneling money to informants inside white supremacist groups; it remains unclear how much of F-9’s work can be used in court.