Neville Roy Singham, the wealthy husband of the founder of the progressive nonprofit Code Pink and benefactor of far-left political causes, is under criminal investigation by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
The investigation began by looking into possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and has since expanded into a criminal tax probe over whether money was unlawfully funneled through nonprofits he controls and whether he lied on the tax forms for those nonprofits, known as "990s," the sources said.
The criminal investigation was first reported by Fox News.
Singham is a major financial backer of a New York City-based nonprofit called the People's Forum, a left-leaning nonprofit that advocates for causes impacting the working class and other marginalized groups.
He is also the founder of Thoughtworks, an IT consulting company, and is married to Jodie Evans, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink. Singham sold Thoughtworks to a private equity firm in 2017 for $785 million. At around the same time, Singham moved his business operations to Shanghai, China, and began funding a vast, global network of nonprofits and think tanks to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to reports in The Free Press and the New York Times, Singham moved the funds through shell companies and other opaque entities advancing his brand of leftist politics while pushing pro-Beijing messaging. He injected much of his own money into Code Pink, funding up to a quarter of its operation, according to reports. Soon, Code Pink softened its stance on China, which had previously been highly critical of Beijing's human rights policies. Among other things, the group defended China against widespread reports its government was committing genocide against a Muslim minority group in the country's far Northwest.
Singham has not been charged with wrongdoing, and it was unclear whether the investigation will lead to criminal charges. CBS News has reached out to Singham for comment.
Singham has come under scrutiny by Republican members of Congress since last year over his embrace of Chinese political views, with some questioning whether he has been acting as a foreign agent of China.
The chairman of the Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee, GOP Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, has alleged that several nonprofits controlled by Singham are tied to China and have funneled money to political causes in the U.S. His committee has demanded documents to determine whether there could be coordination between Singham, his nonprofits and Chinese government officials. House Ways and Means and other congressional committees allege Singham's funding of radical activist groups across the globe as well as inside the U.S. bears the classic hallmarks of Beijing's broader influence campaigns, which weaponize domestic social causes to sow division in American politics.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy didn't immediately comment.
Code Pink and the People's Forum didn't immediately comment.
The probe marks the latest example of the Trump administration investigating progressive nonprofit groups and comes as President Trump is planning to give a prime-time address to the nation Thursday that will allege that China tried to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, CBS News previously reported. He is also expected to claim there were efforts to suppress that information.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department secured an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing it of lying to donors and banks by funneling money through its informant program to hate groups. The SPLC has pleaded not guilty and accused the Justice Department of pursuing a vindictive prosecution.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago in recent months separately launched an investigation into a nonprofit run by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman that helped cover some of the legal bills for E. Jean Carroll, a writer who won two separate civil court cases alleging President Trump sexually assaulted her and defamed her. Hoffman has denied any wrongdoing.
An unclassified intelligence assessment from March 2021 determined with high confidence that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered — but did not deploy — influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Last year, the House Oversight Committee asked the Justice Department to investigate whether China was trying to sow discord in the United States, including by potentially funding protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy. In a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, Republicans on the panel suggested that Singham might be acting as a foreign agent of China and helping to fund "extremist entities in the United States with the aim of causing destruction and division in our country."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley last year asked the Justice Department and the FBI to open an inquiry into Code Pink and the People's Forum to see if they should be required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
That law requires registration with the Justice Department by anyone representing the interests of a foreign government to try to influence American opinions.
"Evidence suggests that The People's Forum and Code Pink have been funded and influenced by Mr. [Neville Roy] Singham and the communist Chinese government, both of which are foreign principals. The evidence also suggests that The People's Forum and Code Pink have engaged in covered political activities that directly advance the communist Chinese government's political and policy interests," Grassley wrote in a letter to the Justice Department last year.
A New York Times investigation in 2023 found that Singham works closely with Chinese-backed media entities and helps to promote Chinese talking points, even sharing office space with a company whose mission is to educate the world about China.
"I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives," he told the Times in response to its reporting. "I am solely guided by my beliefs, which are my long-held personal views."
The Justice Department's decision to open an investigation into Singham initially on possible FARA violations is notable, given that former Attorney General Pam Bondi on her first day on the job, issued a memo that deprioritized the criminal enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Daniel Klaidman contributed to this report.
