A federal jury once again convicted North Carolina insurance executive Greg Lindberg of trying to bribe Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey for favorable regulatory rulings following a second trial, according to court documents.
States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on May 15 found Lindberg and fellow defendant John D. Gray guilty of wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and aiding and abetting, according to court documents.
Causey in January 2018 reported to federal law enforcement that Lindberg and Gray offered millions in political contributions in a manner designed to avoid public disclosure, according to records. Gray earlier tried unsuccessfully to have the retrials severed. He then cooperated with the investigation and even wore a wire, according to documents.
Lindberg, the billionaire founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group, and Lindberg’s consultant, Gray, were earlier found guilty of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Two years after being sentenced, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Lindberg and Gray were not given a fair trial and said they must be tried again.
Lindberg also is facing federal fraud charges and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he and an associate defrauded advisory clients of $75 million. In addition, he is fighting efforts by the North Carolina Department of Insurance to distribute funds from insurance companies in rehabilitation back to investors.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court decision to move forward with liquidating two of the insurance companies operated by Lindberg that regulators put into rehabilitation in 2019.
Causey in 2021 found the companies, Banker’s Life Insurance Co. and Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co., had no hope of rehabilitation and filed a petition to liquidate them. At the time of the petition, Bankers Life had liabilities that exceeded its assets by about $92 million and for Colorado Bankers, liabilities that exceeded assets by about $114 million, appeals court Judge Julee Flood wrote.