- The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a trial judge's $524 million judgment against former top North Carolina political donor Greg Lindberg.
- The Universal Life Insurance Company accuses a Lindberg-owned insurance company of draining the money from ULICO's accounts.
- A jury found Lindberg guilty in May in a retrial of a bribery and fraud case. Charges were based on Lindberg's dealings with state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey after the 2016 election. Causey helped federal authorities make their case against Lindberg.
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a trial judge’s $524 million judgment against former top North Carolina political donor Greg Lindberg. With interest, Lindberg could owe closer to $600 million.
“After careful review of the record and with the benefit of oral argument, we find no error in the district court’s well-reasoned ruling. We therefore reject Lindberg’s arguments on appeal,” according to the unsigned unpublished 4th Circuit opinion released Monday.
Judges Toby Heytens, DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, and Diana Gribbon Motz heard Lindberg’s appeal in January.
The judgment stems from a 2017 reinsurance agreement between the Universal Life Insurance Company, ULICO, and Private Bankers Life and Annuity, “a company Lindberg wholly owned.”
In 2020, ULICO accused Lindberg of draining $524 million from ULICO’s accounts. A trial judge agreed with ULICO.
“The court observed that the guaranty agreement contained unambiguous language regarding Lindberg’s obligation to cover PBLA’s obligations under the reinsurance agreement, finding that ‘there is no ambiguity and no genuine issue of material fact as to … [the] issues on [ULICO’s] breach of contract claim,’” according to the 4th Circuit opinion.
In June ULICO withdrew an appeal to North Carolina’s highest court in its legal battle with Lindberg. The company said in a court filing that its latest legal action in state court was tied to efforts to block Lindberg from “dissipating assets.”
In May a federal jury found Lindberg guilty of bribery and fraud charges in connection with his dealings with state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey after the 2016 election. Lindberg is challenging the jury’s decision.
A document ULICO filed with the state Supreme Court explained its decision to drop it appeal in state court.
“ULICO continues to believe that the issues on which this Court has granted review are of great importance to the jurisprudence of this State and that it is important for this Court to resolve the conflict between different panels of the Court of Appeals,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
“Since the underlying judgment was entered on 22 May 2022, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina concluded – following a two-day evidentiary hearing – that Respondent Greg E. Lindberg (‘Lindberg’) has been dissipating assets to evade ULICO’s Judgment,” the court filing continued. “ULICO has substantial reason to believe that dissipation is continuing. Moreover, Lindberg’s creditors increase, including a recent federal tax lien against Lindberg in excess of $26 million.”
ULICO’s federal court judgment against Lindberg stood at $576 million on Nov. 22, with interest accruing at almost $32,000 per day, according to court filings. A ULICO attorney described a “$600 million judgment” during arguments before the state Court of Appeals in October 2023.
ULICO has said in court filings that it “stands as Lindberg’s largest judgment creditor.” The company says its judgment stems from Lindberg “draining” a trust fund designed to make annuity payments for policyholders in Puerto Rico.
A federal jury found Lindberg and co-defendant John Gray guilty in May in a retrial of bribery and fraud charges that originally sent Lindberg to federal prison with a seven-year sentence. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals later threw out the convictions because of problems with jury instructions.
Before the legal action against him, Lindberg had attracted attention in the 2010s as a top donor to political campaigns in North Carolina. He supported Democratic Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin’s unsuccessful 2016 re-election bid. Goodwin lost to Causey. The federal case against Lindberg and Gray stemmed from charges that Lindberg bribed Causey. Causey worked with federal authorities, including wearing a surveillance wire while dealing with Lindberg.
Lindberg became the largest financial contributor in 2017 to the NC Republican Party and to groups supporting then-Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican. Forest lost the 2020 governor’s race to the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Roy Cooper.