Insurance Commissioner Set Me Up, Greg Lindberg Claims In Lawsuit – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Top Stories
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Life Insurance
Top Stories RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
March 24, 2020 Top Stories No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Insurance Commissioner Set Me Up, Greg Lindberg Claims In Lawsuit

By John Hilton

Billionaire insurance magnate Greg Lindberg is not going down quietly, filing a lawsuit recently against the state insurance commissioner he was convicted of bribing.

Filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, the lawsuit repeats much of Lindberg's defense at his criminal trial. Lindberg accuses Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI, of "abuse of power and breach of the public trust."

Lindberg, a Durham, N.C., billionaire, was convicted March 5 of using the promise of millions in campaign money to bribe Causey. Lindberg owns Global Bankers Insurance Group, a managing company for several insurance and reinsurance companies.

The federal jury also found Lindberg associate John Gray guilty on two public corruption charges. Associate John Palermo was found not guilty. Lindberg and Gray could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for one of the charges and up to 10 additional years on the other.

As his defense team claimed during the trial, Lindberg's lawsuit claims he was set up and framed by Causey.

Those lawyers argued at trial that Causey had a strong motivation for entrapping Lindberg: The insurance company magnate was the largest financial supporter of Causey's chief political opponent -- former insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who Causey narrowly defeated in the 2016 election.

'Could Not Forgive'

Lindberg donated at least $9,500 to Goodwin during the 2016 race, according to state records.

"Causey could not forgive Plaintiffs for supporting former Commissioner Goodwin’s reelection campaign," the lawsuit said. "He also could not ignore the threat that Plaintiffs and their financial resources posed to him. Causey knew he needed to sideline Plaintiffs, and Lindberg in particular, in advance of the 2020 elections."

Causey has declined comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit zeroes in on a $110,000 contribution Lindberg allegedly made to the Causey campaign.

"After confronted, Causey admitted this story was not true," the lawsuit said. "These false statements precipitated a federal investigation into Lindberg and his businesses, including Global Growth and GBIG Capital."

Still, the lawsuit claimed Lindberg entered into a memorandum of understanding with state insurance officials with strict terms regulating his companies' investment program.

"To Plaintiffs’ amazement, and with no notice, Causey and his team reneged on key provisions of the Memorandum in early August 2018," the lawsuit stated. "The Memorandum had authorized principal protected notes as a vehicle for Plaintiffs to maintain their investment strategy. Causey and his team put Plaintiffs in a vulnerable position by renouncing the Department’s agreement to allow principal protected notes."

As a result, Lindberg and his companies lost access to credit markets, which led to his business empire crumbling. Lindberg's North Carolina domiciled insurance companies were placed into rehabilitation in June 2019.

"Plaintiffs have suffered economic losses in excess of $500 million due to Causey’s arbitrary and
capricious actions," the lawsuit claimed. The lawsuit asks for damages and a jury trial.

High-Profile Trial

The trial hinged on hours of secretly recorded conversations between Causey, Lindberg and his associates. Jurors also heard extensive testimony from Causey, who cooperated in the federal sting and wore a clandestine recording device to capture his conversations with the defendants.

Over the course of the eight-day trial inside Charlotte's century-old federal courthouse, prosecutors contended there was abundant evidence to show what Lindberg and his associates wanted for their money: They wanted Causey to reassign the senior regulator who oversaw one of Lindberg's companies.

The recordings played for the jury showed that Lindberg and his associates repeatedly urged Causey to move Jackie Obusek, the deputy N.C. insurance commissioner responsible for regulating Lindberg's company. They contended Obusek was unjustly hurting the reputation of Lindberg's companies and hampering their ability to make investments and acquisitions in other states.

The recordings also revealed that the defendants promised Causey that they would send him millions in campaign contributions, initially through an independent expenditure committee and later through the North Carolina Republican Party.

Ultimately, the Republican Party did transfer $250,000 to Causey's campaign.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

© Entire contents copyright 2019 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

Older

How To Take The Sting Out Of The COVID-19 Market Whiplash

Newer

Advisors Need To Focus On These Three Things Amid COVID-19

Advisor News

  • What Rising Prices Could Mean For Your Clients’ Retirement Plans
  • 38% Of Investors Pulled Money From Stock Market In The Past Year
  • Financial Focus: Retirement Money Management
  • Americans Spread Their Money Across More Firms, Survey Finds
  • Now Is A Good Time To Buy This Inflation Savings Bond
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • LibertyMark Freedom Fixed Indexed Annuities Launch
  • Nationwide Adds BNP Paribas Global H-Factor Index To FIA
  • Transamerica Launches Structured Index Advantage Annuity
  • Recommending FIAs: Start With The Client’s Objective
  • NC Man Wins First $5 Million Prize In Scratch-Off Game
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • AHIP’s Policy Roadmap Aimed At Increasing Health Care Access, Affordability
  • Don’t Fall For Joe Namath’s Ads
  • Health Insurance Can Now Help Some Californians Find Housing
  • $2.7B Settlement In CalPERS Long-Term Care Insurance Lawsuit Is Canceled
  • Virginia Poised To Review Eligibility Of 2 Million In Medicaid ‘Safe Haven’
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance

  • The 5 Secrets To Retaining Financial Sales Professionals
  • Life Insurance Activity Continues Dip In April But Still Stronger Than 2021, MIB Reports
  • Transamerica Adds Execs To Annuity And Life Insurance Team
  • Northwestern Mutual Invests $5M In Black-Led Financial Institutions
  • Protective Life Closes On AUL Acquisition
More Life Insurance

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • OneAmerica Commits $1 Million Toward Financial Literacy
  • Transamerica Structured Index Advantage Annuity Offers Investors More Certainty with Upside Growth and Downside Protection
  • Senior Market Sales Creates First-of-Its-Kind Lead Acquisition Platform
  • Growing financial services firm Kuvare opens Des Moines office in East Village, continuing expansion in Iowa
  • BetterLife Selects iPipeline® to Digitally Transform Its Business & Better Serve Future Generations
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.