‘We’ll continue to fight’: Greg Lindberg attorney says bribery case isn’t over

An attorney for embattled financier Greg Lindberg hinted at an appeal two days after his client was convicted for a second time of bribing North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

“We were genuinely surprised by the verdict. We will continue to fight,” said Brandon McCarthy, partner at Katten, Muchin, Rosenman.

Lindberg, 53, declined an additional request for direct comment on the verdict.

He faces up to 30 years in prison after a jury returned unanimous verdicts on bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, according to court documents. A consultant, John Gray, was also convicted.

The pair were convicted after a week-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented in court, from April 2017 to August 2018, Lindberg, of Durham, N.C., the founder and chairman of Eli Global and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group, and Gray, 73, of Chapel Hill, N.C., engaged in a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure committees and improper campaign contributions to persaude Causey to take official action favorable to GBIG, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release.

Lindberg and Gray gave, offered, and promised the commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value in exchange for the removal of NCDOI’s senior deputy commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing the regulation and the periodic examination of GBIG, the release said.

Both men were convicted of the same charges in 2020 and Lindberg served about 21 months behind bars before his conviction was overturned due to judicial error.

Causey chimed in with a statement late Thursday: "Since the day I was sworn in as Commissioner of Insurance I have led the fight against fraud and corruption. We cannot turn our backs on fraud and corruption just because of political allegiance. Our democracy is built on the rule of law and commands that we all follow the law and that there is equal justice under the law."

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.