May 15, 2024

Report: Greg Lindberg found guilty on bribery charges for a second time

Greg Lindberg, troubled financier and former owner of Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co., was found guilty today for a second time of bribing the North Carolina insurance commissioner, Law360 reported.

Lindberg was convicted in 2020 on bribery and fraud charges, along with consultant John Gray. They were caught on a recording offering North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey up to $2 million to replace the deputy in charge of monitoring Lindberg’s companies.

Lindberg served 633 days of an 87-month sentence, and later wrote a book about the experience.

A June 2022 ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the conviction. The appeals court ruled that the trial judge improperly lowered the prosecution’s burden of proof by telling the jury that the staffing change was an “official act,” one of the elements of the fraud conspiracy charge.

Lindberg, founder of the private equity firm Eli Global, eventually acquired several insurers and grouped them together as the Global Bankers Insurance Group. Insurance profits soared and ultimately enabled Lindberg to funnel $2 billion to Eli Global, according to a Wall Street Journal report. That attracted regulators and initiated Lindberg’s downfall.

Lindberg made a special agreement with former insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin allowing him to invest up to 40% of his insurance companies’ assets into affiliated business entities. In November 2016, Goodwin lost his seat to Causey, who reduced the cap on affiliated investments from 40% to 10%.

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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