A federal criminal indictment charged four people with public corruption and bribery, for an alleged conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery.  According to the indictment, the aim was to bombard the state’s top insurance commissioner with gifts—in exchange for preferential business treatment.

North Carolina state GOP chairman Robin Hayes and Greg Lindberg, founder of Eli Global LLC and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group were charged with bribery and conspiracy. Also indicted were John D. Gray, a consultant for Lindberg and an Eli Global executive John V. Palermo. Haye, who has resigned as party chairman, is also charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI.

The criminal indictment alleges that in January 2018, the elected Commissioner of Insurance of the North Carolina Department of Insurance reported concerns to federal law enforcement about political contributions and other requests made by Lindberg and Gray and agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation that was initiated.

According to allegations in the indictment, between April 2017 to August 2018, Lindberg, Gray, Palermo and Hayes devised a scheme to defraud and deprive the citizens of North Carolina of the honest services of the Commissioner, an elected state official, through bribery.

The defendants engaged in a bribery scheme involving independent expenditure accounts and improper campaign contributions for the purpose of causing the commissioner to take official action favorable to Lindberg’s company, Global Bankers Insurance Group.

As the indictment alleges, the defendants gave, offered, and promised the commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value in exchange for the removal of North Carolina Department of Insurance’s Senior Deputy Commissioner. The employee was unnamed in the indictment but is responsible for overseeing regulation and the periodic examination of Global Bankers Insurance Group.

Several meetings among Lindberg, Gray, Palermo and the commissioner were held to devise a plan on how to funnel campaign contributions to the commissioner anonymously.

To conceal the bribery scheme, Palermo allegedly set up, at the direction of Lindberg, two corporate entities to form an independent expenditure committee with the purpose of supporting the commissioner’s re-election campaign and funded the entities with $1.5 million as promised to the commissioner.

Also, at Lindberg and Gray’s direction, Hayes allegedly transferred $250,000 that Lindberg had contributed to a North Carolina Republican state party of which Hayes was chairman, to the commissioner’s re-election campaign.

On or about Aug. 28, 2018, FBI agents interviewed Hayes about his involvement with and knowledge of the alleged improper campaign contributions.  During the interview, Hayes allegedly lied to FBI agents about directing funds, at Lindberg’s request, from Lindberg’s campaign contribution to the North Carolina state political party to the commissioner’s re-election campaign; about having any discussions with the commissioner about Lindberg or Gray; and about discussing with the commissioner personnel issues related to his office.