Lindberg gets more than 7 years for trying to bribe elected official; says he’ll appeal
Greg Lindberg, the billionaire businessman at the heart of one of North Carolina’s worst government corruption scandals, will spend more than seven years in prison, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in Charlotte.
U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn also ordered Lindberg to pay a $35,000 fine and placed him on three years’ probation for his scheme to bribe Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey with up to $2 million in campaign contributions.
Eventually, Lindberg, one of the state’s largest political donors who wrote checks to both parties, funneled $250,000 earmarked for Causey through the state Republican Party, an illicit transaction handled by the party’s chairman, former Republican congressman Robin Hayes of Concord.
Cogburn said he intended Lindberg’s punishment to carry a message: “Our government in North Carolina should not be for sale.”
Lindberg received seven years and three months for each of two corruption counts of which he was convicted in March. The sentences will run concurrently. Lindberg will also serve three years of probation after his release.
His attorneys had asked Cogburn to limit Lindberg’s punishment to one or two years.The Asheville-based judge would have none of that.
“What kind of deterrence are we going to have if millionaires are allowed to pay seven-figure bribes?” Cogburn told the courtroom.
“We have a serious breach of the law. We’ve got to deter people who think it’s a good idea to bribe officials in North Carolina.”
An appeal by the 50-year-old father of four is all but guaranteed. His defense team had asked Cogburn to allow their client to remain free on bond while his case makes its way through the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The judge refused. But he said he will allow Lindberg to self-report to prison at his assigned date.
Indicted on the same corruption charges as Lindberg, Hayes chose to cooperate with the investigation and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of lying to the FBI. Earlier Wednesday, Cogburn sentenced him to a year of probation and a $9,500 fine.
John Gray, an associate of Lindberg’s and a participant in the bribery conspiracy, received a 2 1/2-year sentence and two years’ probation. His attorneys had asked for home confinement. Prosecutors had recommended 10 years.
Lindberg’s punishment was a little more than half the time that prosecutors had wanted. They said a 14-year sentence matched the seriousness of Lindberg’s crimes, the size of his prospective bribe, and his lack of remorse.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Stetzer told Cogburn that if the defendant had gotten his way, “The Department of Insurance would be a wholly owned subsidiary of Lindberg’s company.”
“The harm in this case is intangible but immense,” Stetzer said. “And the deterrent has to be immense.”
Lindberg’s attorneys said the government’s recommendation was excessive, particularly since Hayes, who initially was charged with the same crimes, received probation.
“No matter how you slice it, a political contribution is not a crime,” defense attorney Brandon McCarthy said after the sentencing. “Seeking fair regulation is not a crime.”
Given a chance to address the judge during the hearing, Lindberg offered no apologies and said he disagreed with the jury’s verdict.
But he offered a pledge. No matter his sentence, he said, “I want to express my sincerity that I will never be here again.”
Thumbs up
The red-haired Lindberg, a Yale graduate, entered the courthouse with his right thumb in the air and his face hidden behind a mask. He followed a familiar route. But this time he entered the building as a convicted felon.
Six months ago, his trial here explored one of the largest political bribery scandals in North Carolina history. It hinged on hours of secretly recorded conversations between Causey, Lindberg and his associates — people, Cogburn said dismissively during Hayes’ sentencing, who “were used to having their way.”
Causey, a Republican, was the star witness at Lindberg’s trial. After alerting the FBI to the bribery scheme, he wore a wire during his negotiations with Lindberg, Hayes and Gray.
Over the course of the eight days of testimony and legal arguments inside Charlotte’s century-old federal courthouse, prosecutors contended there was abundant evidence to show what Lindberg and his associates expected for their money: They wanted Causey to reassign Jackie Obusek, the senior regulator who oversaw one of Lindberg’s companies.
Lindberg and his fellow conspirators contended that Obusek was unfairly 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 state Republican Party.
Ultimately, the Republican Party, under Hayes’s direction, transferred $250,000 to Causey’s campaign.
Defense lawyers argued that Lindberg and his co-defendants were innocent victims of a politician who used his power to “try to entrap and ensnare them.”
Those lawyers also contended 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.
Lindberg donated at least $9,500 to Goodwin during the 2016 race, according to state records.
Lindberg in recent years became one of North Carolina’s largest political donors. He owns Global Bankers Insurance Group, a managing company for several insurance and reinsurance companies.
Deliberations by his jury at times turned raucous. At several points, loud arguments could be heard coming from behind the closed doors of the jury room.
It got so loud on the last day of jury discussions that Cogburn’s clerk sent a bailiff into the room to tell the jurors to hold it down.
Fifteen minutes later, they had a verdict: Lindberg and Gray were guilty on all counts.
Following the pair’s sentencing Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray pledged to keep “bad actors with deep pockets and unscrupulous intentions” from damaging the country.
Alluding to those who “seek to line their own pockets through deceit and fraud,” the Republican federal prosecutor offered a piece of advice:
“Keep a travel toothbrush handy.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Lindberg gets more than 7 years for trying to bribe elected official; says he’ll appeal."
CORRECTION: Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated the judge’s decision on letting Lindberg remain free while the case is appealed. Cogburn denied that request.
