Greg Lindberg, 56, founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG), has been sentenced to a combined 12 years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy and a multibillion-dollar fraud and money laundering scheme. These illicit activities led to the bankruptcy of multiple insurance companies, leaving thousands of policyholders with unpaid claims.
From at least 2016 through 2019, Lindberg conspired to defraud various insurance companies, other third parties, and hundreds of thousands of policyholders. He and his co-conspirators deceived the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) and other regulators, evading requirements meant to protect policyholders. Lindberg concealed the true financial condition of his companies and improperly used insurance company funds for his personal benefit, including "forgiving" over $125 million in loans to himself and funding a lavish lifestyle with private jets, mansions, and a 200-foot luxury yacht. He directed companies he controlled in North Carolina, Bermuda, and Malta to invest more than $2 billion in loans and securities with his own affiliated entities, laundering the proceeds.
As his fraud and money laundering conspiracies began to unravel, Lindberg engaged in a bribery scheme between April 2017 and August 2018. He and others provided millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other valuables to the Commissioner of Insurance of the NCDOI. This was done to influence the Commissioner to take official action favorable to GBIG, specifically the removal of the NCDOI’s Senior Deputy Commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing GBIG's regulation and examinations.
Lindberg's conduct caused substantial financial hardship, resulting in multiple of his insurance companies being placed in rehabilitation and liquidation. To date, thousands of individual policyholders and other victims are collectively still owed more than $1 billion. A special master has been appointed by the court to assist with the restitution process and distribution of funds to victims, with a separate restitution hearing to be set at a later date. Lindberg pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering, following his May 2024 conviction by a federal jury for conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.