FILE - This undated photo provided by Robert Brown Public Relations shows Greg Lindberg. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A major North Carolina political donor and his associate have been convicted a second time of attempting to bribe the state’s insurance commissioner to secure preferential regulatory treatment for his insurance business.
A federal jury convicted insurance magnate Greg Lindberg and former consultant John Gray on Wednesday of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and conspiracy to commit “honest services wire fraud” — when a person through a bribe seeks to deprive citizens of their right to honest services by a government official.for Lindberg and Gray and ordered new trials, ruling that the trial judge gave jurors misleading instructions before they began deliberations.
Their codefendant, former U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, pleaded guilty in 2019 to making a false statement to FBI agents conducting an investigation while he was state Republican Party chairman. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and received probation. The federal government said Hayes had agreed to help funnel money going to the state GOP to Causey’s 2020 reelection campaign.Causey wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He alerted authorities and recorded conversations that served as the basis of the 2019 indictments against Lindberg and Gray.Attorneys for Lindberg and Gray didn’t immediately respond Thursday to emails seeking comment on Wednesday’s verdicts.
Lindberg and Gray face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A sentencing date has not been set.