Judge sends Greg Lindberg back to federal prison for fraud, bribery
Federal District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn sentenced disgraced financier and insurance company magnate Greg Lindberg to more than 19 years in federal prison on Tuesday, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Lindberg had appealed to the court for a sentence essentially amounting to time served. In a recent sentencing memorandum, Lindberg’s attorneys requested concurrent 48-month prison sentences in both his bribery conviction and a separate $2 billion fraud case.
The filing sought additional reductions that would effectively credit Lindberg for nearly all of his time already served in custody.
As of this week, Lindberg has served 561 days at the Gaston County Jail. He previously spent 633 days in federal prison after his initial conviction in a bribery case tied to campaign contributions. That conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2022.
Prosecutors retried the case, and Lindberg was convicted again in May 2024. Separately, he pleaded guilty in November 2024 in a financial crimes case involving what prosecutors previously described as a $2 billion fraud scheme.
Investigators say Lindberg diverted vast sums of money from his North Carolina-based insurance companies to fund a lavish lifestyle and personal business interests.
Defense attorneys argued the federal sentencing guidelines “substantially overstate” the losses tied to the cases and said Lindberg has made “unprecedented restitution efforts” since his earlier sentencing. The filing also cited his cooperation with a special master overseeing restitution matters.
‘Countless hours’ helping inmates
Last week, Lindberg provided several letters from supporters urging the court to go light on his sentence.
“While incarcerated, Greg spent countless hours helping other inmates improve themselves,” wrote Richard McDonald, who was in prison with Lindberg. “He taught entrepreneurship classes, financial literacy, employment preparation, and business fundamentals. But more importantly, he gave people hope. He treated incarcerated men like human beings capable of rebuilding their lives.”
In January, a judge ordered Lindberg to pay $526 million to policyholders in a civil lawsuit originally filed in October 2019 by life insurers he formerly owned: Southland National Insurance Corp., Bankers Life Insurance Co., Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co. and Southland National Reinsurance Corp.
On April 3, special master Joseph Grier recommended that Lindberg pay $1.625 billion in restitution to eight insurance companies he was convicted of defrauding. The largest share, $821 million, is owed to Colorado Bankers Life.
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