“Lindberg used his ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle, buying private jets, mansions and a 200-foot luxury yacht,” the DOJ said.
TAMPA, Fla. — Insurance mogul from Tampa, Greg Lindberg, 56, was sentenced in North Carolina to 12 years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy and a multibillion-dollar fraud conspiracy, leaving thousands of unpaid policyholders and bankrupting multiple insurance companies.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) made the announcement on Tuesday about Lindberg, the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG).
According to the DOJ, from 2016 to 2019, Lindberg operated companies in North Carolina, Bermuda, Malta and elsewhere. Based on court records, the DOJ says that during that time, Lindberg conspired with others to defraud insurance companies, third parties and hundreds of thousands of insurance policyholders.
During that time, the DOJ said, Lindberg and others conspired to deceive the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) as well as other regulatory entities. Additionally, the DOJ says Lindberg evaded regulatory requirements, concealed the true financial conditions of his companies and made improper use of insurance company funds for personal benefit. The DOJ also says that Lindberg and his co-conspirators invested over $2 billion in loans and other securities with his own affiliated companies and ended up laundering the proceeds.
According to the DOJ, Lindberg then directed the scheme and he personally benefited by “forgiving” over $125 million in loans to himself from his insurance companies.
“Lindberg used his ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle, buying private jets, mansions and a 200-foot luxury yacht,” the DOJ said.
The insurance mogul was able to carry out the conspiracies by engaging in “circular transactions among Lindberg’s web of entities using insurance company funds.”
While this was happening, the DOJ says, Lindberg misled or omitted information from regulators, agencies, insurance companies and policyholders.
From 2017 to 2018, the DOJ said, Lindberg and co-conspirators engaged in bribery to favorably sway action of the NCDOI commissioner of insurance for CBIG.
“Lindberg and others gave the Commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value in exchange for the removal of NCDOI’s Senior Deputy Commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing the regulation and the periodic examination of GBIG,” the DOJ said. “As a result of Lindberg’s conduct, his insurance companies, third-party entities and policyholders suffered substantial financial hardship, and multiple of his insurance companies have been placed in rehabilitation and liquidation.”
Thousands of policyholders and other victims are still collectively owed over $1 billion, the DOJ says. And a special master was court-appointed to help with the process of restitution and distribution of funds to victims. A separate restitution hearing is still pending, the DOJ said.
According to the DOJ, Lindberg pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S. and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In May of 2024, Lindberg was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.