North Carolina
North Carolina Supreme Court Lets Stand Greg Lindberg’s Civil Fraud Liability
The North Carolina Supreme Court has decided that it will not, after all, review another legal filing by convicted insurance entrepreneur Greg Lindberg.
The Oct. 17 ruling lets stand a 2023 decision by the state Court of Appeals, which found that Lindberg and some of his affiliated companies were liable for fraud by misleading life insurance companies and a reinsurance firm that he once owned.
“We hold the trial court’s conclusions of law were supported by findings of fact based on competent evidence,” the appeals court judges wrote in the 2023 opinon.
The high court in December 2023 had agreed to review the appeal court’s order, at Lindberg’s behest. But after hearing oral arguments, the Supreme Court justices changed their minds, noting that “discretionary review was improvidently allowed by order on 13 December 2023.”
No further explanation was offered. But with multiple criminal and civil proceedings stemming from the bribery conviction of and the regulatory crackdown on Lindberg, the appeal court’s 24-page opinion offers a valuable recount of some of the main aspects of the voluminous litigation involving Lindberg since 2016.
“Simply put, Lindberg created a scheme in which he caused $1.2 billon held for Plaintiffs’ policyholders to be invested into other non-insurance companies that he also owned or controlled,” the appellate judges wrote in the opinion in Southland National Insurance Corp., et al, vs. Greg Lindberg, et al.
It all began in 2014 under previous North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, the court explained. Lindberg sought to re-domesticate Southland, Bankers Life Insurance Co., Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Co., and Southland National Reinsurance Corp. to North Carolina. Lindberg struck a special agreement with Goodwin, allowing Lindberg to break what has often been considered a cardinal rule for insurance companies – keeping adequate reserves on hand and under the control of the insurance carrier.
Instead, Lindberg was allowed to invest up to 40% of the insurance companies’ assets into affiliated business entities, and Lindberg soon invested hundreds of millions into non-insurance firms he owned or controlled.
In 2016, Mike Causey defeated Goodwin in the election and took over as insurance commissioner. Causey moved swiftly to reduce the cap on affiliated investments – back to 10%, the court explained.
Lindberg in early 2018 attempted to bribe Causey with heavy campaign contributions, hoping for a relaxation of the rules as he struggled to “untangle his affiliated investments,” the appellate judges noted. Causey cooperated with federal authorities and wore a recording device during the meeting with Lindberg. Lindberg was convicted of bribery in 2020, had his conviction overturned due to improper jury instructions, then was convicted again in 2024. He’s still awaiting sentencing.
Meanwhile, in late 2018, while Lindberg’s prosecution was pending, it became obvious that Lindberg’s affiliated companies would not meet their obligations to restore funds to cover the life insurers’ policyholder liabilities. NCDOI placed Southland and the other insurance companies under administrative supervision. An out-of-state consultant was put in charge, and deadlines were set for repayment of the assets.
With it becoming clear that Lindberg’s affiliated firms would not meet the deadlines, Southland and the other insurance companies signed a memorandum of understanding and other agreements, restucturing the financial obligations, providing a $40 million line of credit to a company owned by Lindberg, and making the affiliated firms subsidiaries of a newly created holding company, the court explained.
In 2019, Lindberg’s affiliated firms failed to meet the restructuring agreements’ goals and failed to make the affiliated businesses part of the holding company. Southland filed suit, charging fraud.
The trial court in Wake County largely agreed, and the appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling.
“Defendants attempt to convince this Court that the MOU’s main purpose was not only to rehabilitate Plaintiffs’ companies, but to ensure Lindberg would continue to benefit from the overall transaction,” the appellate judges wrote. “This argument ignores another of Defendants’ motivations: to make money using capital provided by hardworking, North Carolina policyholders.”
Lindberg’s team claimed that the memorandum of understanding was unenforceable. The appeals court didn’t buy that argument.
“Defendants and Lindberg have enjoyed the benefit of millions of dollars of debt relief provided by Plaintiffs, yet continue to claim the MOU is unenforceable,” the court wrote.
On other arguments the court was equally critical of Lindberg’s assertions.
“Put plainly, Defendants made representations about their ability to perform under the MOU, then just two weeks before performance was due, cited those exact representations as the reason why they could not perform,” Judge April Wood wrote in the opinion.
And because Lindberg understood the intricacies of the affiliated businesses’ structures, he knew that performance under the MOU was impossible, “yet made representations that induced Plaintiffs to enter into the contract. For those reasons, we hold the trial court did not err in finding Defendants’ actions satisfied the elements of fraud.”
The appeals court remanded part of the case to the lower court to determine remedies available to Southland and the other plaintiff insurance companies.
In November 2024, Lindberg pleaded guilty to $2 billion in fraud in a related prosecution. In July of this year, a federal judge approved a plan to distribute $318 million from the sale of a Lindberg-owned software firm to the life insurance policyholders. In early October, the judge allowed the release of policyholder information so that a special master in the case could finally begin distributing funds to the victims of the fraud.
Read more about Lindberg’s bribery conviction here, and other court rulings here.
Topics
Fraud
North Carolina
Liability
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Saturday, June 27, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 27 drawing
03-16-28-30-59, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 27 drawing
Day: 7-6-8, Fireball: 2
Evening: 3-1-0, Fireball: 4
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 27 drawing
Day: 8-0-2-2, Fireball: 9
Evening: 8-1-5-3, Fireball: 0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from June 27 drawing
02-08-10-17-28
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Double Play numbers from June 27 drawing
01-02-15-25-36
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 27 drawing
26-32-38-51-52, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
- Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
- Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
An AMBER Alert has been issued for a 15-year-old New Bern boy after police say he was abducted at gunpoint from a motel early Saturday morning.
According to the New Bern Police Department, officers responded around 3:15 a.m. to the Palace Motel, located at 1901 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., after receiving a report of a child abduction.
Police said two adults inside the motel room told officers they had been asleep with two boys — 15-year-old Isaiah Kavon Owens and 13-year-old Kenneth Brantley Jr. — when they were awakened by someone banging on the door.
According to investigators, Larry Tompkins opened the door and encountered multiple people, including Kenneth Lee Brantley Sr., the father of Kenneth Brantley Jr.
Police said Brantley pointed a gun at Tompkins before taking both boys from the room and leaving in a black 2012 GMC Yukon Denali XL with South Carolina license plate XFH752.
Authorities said Brantley may be traveling to his residence in Marion, South Carolina. A statewide BOLO (Be On the Lookout) has been issued for the vehicle.
The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued an AMBER Alert Friday morning at the request of the New Bern Police Department.
Isaiah is described as a Black male, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing approximately 100 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, black pants and red-and-blue sneakers.
Police said Isaiah is autistic and has a speech delay.
Investigators said arrest warrants have been obtained for Brantley charging him with the abduction and endangerment of Isaiah Owens.
The New Bern Police Department said it is working with local, state, out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies to locate Isaiah and ensure his safe return.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the New Bern Police Department at 252-633-2020, their local law enforcement agency, or call 911 immediately.
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Authorities advise the public not to approach Brantley.
A man once given the nickname Cardiac Kemba due to his heart-stopping heroics at the University of Connecticut, Kemba Walker is back to breathe life into the 704’s youth basketball community.
The Charlotte Hornets’ legend officially opened the Kemba Walker Sports Academy in Concord, North Carolina this afternoon, a multi-sport facility just north of Charlotte that’s mission is “to provide a safe, fun, and inclusive environment for athletes to learn, grow, excel and compete.”
At a ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the 54,000 square foot facility, Walker took some time to answer questions from assembled media about his latest venture that was created with community in mind.
“It’s really bigger than, you know, basketball,” said the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer this afternoon when talking about the academy. “We want the kids to have some discipline and really teach them how to work hard you know? That’s what we’re chasing. We’re chasing something that’s much bigger than the actual sport.”
It’s a bold vision, and one that Walker has dreamed of fulfilling since he was a kid suiting up for his childhood AAU program, the New York Gauchos.
“(The Gauchos’ facility) is probably not quite like this. It’s not as big as this. But that was my safe space, you know? That was the place I was able to go to, to enjoy the game of basketball and meet some of my closest friends that I still have to this day who actually run this place.”
Walker has been a pillar of the grassroots basketball community in Charlotte since he was a baby-faced, 20-something-year-old suiting up for the Bobcats. And even though he spent some time playing elsewhere in his professional basketball career, the four-time All-Star has considered the Queen City his domain since draft night.
“I never left, first of all” said Walker when asked about returning to the Hornets as an assistant coach and being able to now give back to the community that embraced him with open arms when he was drafted in 2011. “Obviously, I went to a couple of different teams and, you know, my path took me to a couple of different places, but I always kept my house here, and my family was always here, and whenever I had time in the summer, something like that, I was always here.”
“But it is amazing to be back. I love Charlotte.”
And Charlotte loves him back.
Walker stamped his name in the franchise record books with a successful career on the court, but he forever endeared himself into the community by embracing the basketball-crazed city he didn’t have a single tie to until he was drafted there.
The Kemba Walker Sports Academy will host its first grassroots basketball event this weekend, the Kemba Walker Invitational, where AAU teams from across the country (including Walker’s own New York Gauchos) will convene in Concord to christen the facility.
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