A major North Carolina political donor and his associates have been found guilty for the second time of trying to bribe the state’s insurance commissioner to secure regulatory incentives for his insurance business.
A federal jury on Wednesday accused insurance mogul Greg Lindberg and former consultant John Gray of bribery and “honest services wire fraud” in connection with programs that receive federal funds. He was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the public. Government officials.
The two were convicted of the same charges in 2020. In 2022, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, reversed the convictions of Lindbergh and Gray, finding that the trial judge had misled the jury. handed down a judgment and ordered a new trial. Instructions were given before deliberations began. Shortly after this verdict, Lindbergh was released from an Alabama prison where he had been serving a seven-year sentence.
The retrial began last week in federal court before U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn, who also presided over the 2020 trial.
“The defendants planned and executed a complex scheme that involved making large campaign contributions to elected officials in exchange for preferential treatment,” Western North Carolina Attorney Dena King said in a news release. . “This was not an error in judgment. It was a calculated bribery attempt and a blatant violation of federal law.”
Mr. Lindbergh and Mr. Gray were indicted in 2019 on charges that they tried to donate $1.5 million to Insurance Secretary Mike Causey’s campaign in exchange for the removal of the insurance official responsible for regulating Mr. Lindbergh’s company. He was one of four people. Before his indictment, Mr. Lindbergh had donated millions of dollars to candidates, party committees and independent spending groups in North Carolina.
Their co-defendant, former U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, pleaded guilty in 2019 to making false statements to FBI agents investigating the case while he was chairman of the state Republican Party.
He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and received probation. The federal government announced that Mr. Hayes has agreed to help Mr. Causey raise funds for his 2020 re-election campaign that will go to the state Republican Party. President Donald Trump later pardoned Hayes.
Causey was not accused of wrongdoing. He alerted authorities and recorded the conversation that formed the basis of the 2019 indictment against Mr. Lindbergh and Mr. Gray.
The fourth person charged was acquitted at trial.
At his 2020 trial, Lindbergh’s lawyers argued in part that he had not committed a crime and was ensnared by Causey’s involvement with authorities.
Lindbergh’s attorney Brandon McCarthy said late Thursday, “We were truly surprised by the verdict. We will continue to fight.”
“There is direct and clear evidence that both Mr. Gray and Mr. Lindbergh acted in good faith and without criminal intent at all times,” Gray’s attorney, Steve Cash, said in a separate email. “I thought about it,” he said, adding that Gray’s team was considering its options.
Mr. Lindbergh was indicted last year on separate federal criminal charges stemming from accusations that he conspired to extort large sums of money from insurance companies and lied to regulators to hide the scheme with two co-conspirators. It was done. Charges in the case include wire fraud, conspiracy and making false insurance business reports to regulators. Trials on these issues have been postponed pending retrial.
Lindbergh and Gray face up to 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A sentencing date has not been set.
