Neo-Nazis suspect a potato farmer known as “Scary Larry” is an informant who prosecutors allege had a romantic relationship with a top executive at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), according to sources cited by the New York Post. Lawrence W. Myers, 68, is believed by multiple former members of the white supremacist group National Alliance to be the individual referred to by the pseudonym “F-9” in a federal indictment. This informant was allegedly paid $1.2 million in SPLC donor funds.
Federal prosecutors have accused the SPLC of defrauding donors by using contributions to fund the very white supremacist groups they were investigating. The indictment claims the informant, F-9, was paid by the SPLC while also involved in a romantic relationship with an SPLC executive, sharing a house and bank accounts. According to the indictment, $140,000 of donor money was used to cover their living expenses.
Erich Gliebe, a former National Alliance chairman, reportedly believes Myers was a federal agent after acquiring phone records that showed calls between Myers and the FBI and SPLC. Gliebe himself was later revealed to be an SPLC informant, identified as F-42, who allegedly received $155,000 from the organization between 2016 and 2023.
Sources describe Myers as a “paranoid” and “menacing” figure who never fully fit in with the National Alliance. Some members believed he was spying on them, noting his habit of listening to phone calls and his aggressive demeanor. One former member recalled feeling a sense of danger in his presence. Despite these suspicions, no record of violent acts by Myers has been found.
The indictment further suggests F-9 was engaged in “fundraising for the National Alliance,” a role attributed to Lawrence Myers, who reportedly led fundraising segments at annual leadership conferences. Federal investigators have stated that F-9 had been an informant for the SPLC since at least 2003, infiltrating the National Alliance at the organization's direction.
Myers, who speaks Arabic and served as the National Alliance's staff photographer, also authored at least three books in the late 1980s and early 1990s on topics such as bomb-making and espionage. One book, “Improvised Radio Detonation Techniques,” details methods for detonating explosives using modified mobile phones. Another, “Spycomm: Covert Communication Techniques of the Underground,” provides instructions on creating improvised microfilm, stealing phone service, and developing codes.
Clues in the indictment align with Myers's profile, including an alleged North Carolina base and dealings with First Citizens Bank, which has a branch in the small North Carolina town where Myers resides. Records indicate Myers obtained a Georgia fishing license, and he lived within a one-hour drive of a home owned by Heidi Beirich in Ellijay, Georgia. Beirich, a former director at the SPLC, was arrested in August and has pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
Mystery also surrounds Myers's past connection to the Oklahoma City bombing trial. In 1996, while working as a reporter for Media Bypass, a magazine catering to anti-government and right-wing groups, Myers conducted one of the few interviews with convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh. Later that year, Myers reportedly became responsible for the dismissal of a juror sympathetic to McVeigh after publishing an interview with the juror alleging government cover-ups. His employer reportedly fired him in late 1996 due to reader complaints and suspicions he was a federal informant.
Myers is now said to live a reclusive life on a North Carolina farm. Both he and Beirich could not be reached for comment. The SPLC maintains that the use of confidential field sources is a standard investigative tool for monitoring extremist threats and has pleaded not guilty. The trial is scheduled to begin next month.