Lindberg’s retrial on bribery, fraud charges delayed past March | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is CJ Staff.

    Former high-profile N.C. political donor Greg Lindberg will not face a retrial on federal bribery and fraud charges in March. A court order issued Tuesday delayed proceedings for Lindberg and co-defendant John Gray.

    No new trial date has been set.

    Carolina Journal reported on Dec. 5 that court documents had pointed toward a March 2023 retrial date for Lindberg, who was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to seven years in prison. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out that conviction in June 2022.

    Now Lindberg's retrial will be pushed back because of issues linked to Gray's legal representation. Court filings in December show Gray recently hired a new attorney. That lawyer filed a motion on Dec. 30 to delay Gray's retrial.

    An order signed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn granted the motion. "[T]his matter is continued to a criminal term to be determined pending the parties' conference regarding a proposed peremptory date," Cogburn wrote.

    "[F]ailure to grant such a continuance would deny counsel for defendant the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence," Cogburn added. "Further, the ends of justice served by granting such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and defendant in a speedy trial. Specifically, Defendant and counsel have shown a need for additional time to review discovery and other materials in preparing for trial or other resolution of this matter."

    Cogburn also ruled that "this matter is continued as to the remaining co-defendants," including Lindberg. "[S]uch defendants are joined with a co-defendant whose case has been continued from the term and as to whom the time for trial has not run and no motion for severance has been granted."

    Federal authorities argue that Lindberg attempted to bribe state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey with "more than $2 million" after Causey's 2016 election. Causey worked with federal law enforcement officials to collect evidence against Lindberg and associates.

    Lindberg was convicted in March 2020 and was sentenced to a seven-year federal prison term. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out that conviction last June. Appellate judges ruled that mistakes in Cogburn's jury instructions had "infected" Lindberg's convictions.

    A court filing in December signaled the large number of documents associated with the case. "On November 21, 2022, ... the United States made a discovery production to Defendant Lindberg which consisted of over 6.4 million pages of documents." according to the motion.

    Gray was expected to receive the same volume of documents. He did not get them in November because of the uncertainty about his legal representation.

    In November Cogburn rejected Lindberg's attempt to end GPS monitoring while he awaits his new trial.

    "The concerns previously expressed by the Government continue to exist," Cogburn wrote in a Nov. 10 order. "Mr. Lindberg now lives in Tampa, Florida, where, according to the Government, he has ready access to both his ocean-going yacht and airplane."

    "The Government has also indicated that Lindberg continues to have significant overseas business interest and assets available to him outside of the United States," Cogburn added. "As for Defendant's contention that he has no incentive to flee because he has a growing family with an additional child on the way, the Court is not persuaded."

    "Here, Lindberg's knowledge of an ongoing criminal investigation into his business practices and the potential for additional criminal charges, as well as the knowledge that he was previously convicted by a jury which resulted in his going to federal prison to serve an 87-month sentence, and the recent civil action filed against him by the SEC provide an incentive for him to flee," the judge concluded. "The Court finds that location monitoring is a reasonable restriction in light of Lindberg's motivation and ability to flee."

    A Nov. 8 court filing from Lindberg had disputed the government's argument that he's a flight risk.

    "Mr. Lindberg lives in a permanent home in Tampa with his significant other and five of his children - all under the age of three, and two under the age of one," according to the brief. "He regularly sees his other children in Tampa when they visit him on a monthly basis. He is also expecting another child in March of 2023."

    In addition to the fraud and bribery charges, Lindberg learned in August about a new federal complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC accuses Lindberg of raiding his own insurance companies in a "massive fraudulent scheme."