Aryan Nations leader gets fraud sentence in SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A one-time leader in the Aryan Nations white supremacist group has been sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to fraud.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced August Kreis (krys) to time served as he awaited sentencing after pleading guilty to taking nearly $193,000 in a need based military pension that prosecutors said he wasn’t entirely eligible to collect.

Kreis rose through the ranks of the Aryan Nations and tried to take over the group after it lost a $6.3 million settlement in 2000. But The Southern Poverty Law Center said it continued to lose members and influence.

Federal prosecutors say they began investigating Kreis’ finances after he suggested his group should join with al-Qaida because they both have common enemies — Jewish people and the American government.