Indicted Archives - Pay Per Touch

February 26, 2023

N.C. insurance billionaire indicted on new business fraud charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Billionaire insurance plan magnate Greg Lindberg has been indicted again by a federal grand jury. This second indictment is for expenses relevant to alleged fraud Lindberg and his staff carried out by means of his network of insurance policies organizations.

A grand jury indicted Lindberg on expenses which include conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, cash laundering conspiracy and two expenses linked to bogus statements about his business.

The indictment, handed down Thursday but made general public on Friday by the Western District of North Carolina, arrives following FBI brokers used a long time combing as a result of his company’s economic records.

Previous: Federal prosecutors allege Lindberg, staff members conspired to defraud N.C. Dept. of Insurance policies

Lindberg was indicted in 2019 in a general public corruption circumstance, alongside with two political operatives and then-N.C. Republican Bash Chairman Robin Hayes, a previous congressman. In that situation, Lindberg was accused of striving to bribe Insurance coverage Commissioner Mike Causey for favorable regulatory rulings on Lindberg’s insurance plan firms.

Hayes pleaded responsible but was afterwards pardoned by then-President Donald Trump. Lindberg was convicted in the corruption circumstance in 2020 but that conviction was later on overturned. Federal prosecutors approach to re-test that circumstance.

Thursday’s indictment in the organization fraud case will come right after two top rated staff in Lindberg’s insurance policies businesses pleaded guilty.

WBTV first documented that a Lindberg personnel pleaded responsible in December. A next staff pleaded guilty in January and entered into a cooperation settlement with federal prosecutors.

In a statement, Susan Estrich, Lindberg’s spokesperson, said the most current costs stem from the government’s investing more than 5 decades going as a result of around 7 million paperwork on “literally 1000’s of challenging economic transactions involving more than 900 companies” and handpicking alleged complex violations that did not cause any decline to N.C. policyholders or people in any other condition.

“The Government is piling on. Their previous circumstance versus Greg Lindberg was constructed on lies and collapsed on charm when the Court docket observed his rights ended up violated,” Estrich’s statement browse, in aspect. “Greg was wrongly convicted, his constitutional legal rights were being violated, and he was sent to prison even however he did not question for any official action, only for truthful regulation, as he will confirm when he is retried in November.”

N.C. Coverage Commissioner Mike Causey also challenges a assertion reacting to Lindberg’s indictment.

“The indictment issued by the grand jury yesterday paints a grim image of an operator who has regularly put his private achieve over the curiosity of the insurance plan companies’ policyholders to the tune of hundreds of tens of millions of dollars,” Causey mentioned.

“The Office of Insurance policies is thoroughly supportive of the government’s initiatives to keep Mr. Lindberg and some others dependable for their steps, and remains hopeful that this prosecution will end result in the restoration of money that can be used to repay policyholders. In the meantime, the Department will keep on performing to guarantee that all of the policyholders are paid what they are owed.”

February 25, 2023

Former Insurance Executive Indicted for $2B Fraud Scheme | OPA

Former Insurance Executive Indicted for B Fraud Scheme | OPA

A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned an indictment yesterday charging a North Carolina person with masterminding and directing a significant scheme to deceive condition insurance policies regulators and defraud hundreds of policyholders and other folks in link with coverage companies he managed.

In accordance to court files, from no later on than 2016 by means of at the very least 2019, Greg E. Lindberg, 53, of Durham, and other people allegedly agreed to defraud numerous insurance corporations, other third functions, and in the end, hundreds of insurance coverage policyholders. Lindberg allegedly deceived the North Carolina Department of Insurance and other regulators, evaded regulatory specifications intended to secure policyholders, hid the true economical issue of his coverage organizations, and improperly used coverage organization cash for his personal gain. In unique, the indictment alleges that Lindberg personally benefitted from the fraud in aspect by employing insurance policy organization cash to finance his lavish way of living, which includes the order and refinancing of private true estate and “forgiving” additional than $125 million in loans from his affiliated organizations to himself.

“Policyholders depend on insurance organization proprietors to comply with the procedures so that the gains they should have and depend on will be accessible when needed,” explained Assistant Legal professional Typical Kenneth A. Well mannered, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Felony Division. “In this alleged $2 billion scheme, the defendant defrauded regulators and policyholders alike, triggering considerable fiscal damage to 1000’s of victims. As this prosecution demonstrates, no issue how complex the scheme, the office will maintain accountable company executives whose crimes go away policyholders holding the bag when lining their personal pockets.”

The charged perform allegedly triggered substantial monetary hardship to the victims. Lindberg allegedly triggered the insurance policy organizations to have interaction in investments of almost $2 billion as section of his plan, most of which remained excellent as of September 2022. Given that 2019, multiple coverage corporations controlled by Lindberg have been put into rehabilitation or liquidation.

“The indictment reveals a carefully orchestrated scheme that relied on a website of advanced financial investments and transactions intended to evade regulators, disguise the monetary wellness of Lindberg’s insurance policies businesses, and conceal the alleged goal of the scheme: Lindberg’s particular obtain,” stated U.S. Lawyer Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. “My office environment will go on to operate with our legislation enforcement associates to look into and prosecute fiscal wrongdoing and keep perpetrators accountable for their steps.”

“People obtain insurance coverage products to give consolation and safety. Even so, this indictment alleges this was a advanced and intricate plan developed for one particular purpose, to profit Lindberg,” claimed Performing Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Scherck of the FBI Charlotte Area Business office. “The FBI is unwavering in our endeavours to maintain people accountable who commit federal monetary crimes.”

Lindberg is billed with just one rely of conspiracy to dedicate crimes in relationship with insurance plan business enterprise, wire fraud, and investment decision adviser fraud a single depend of wire fraud four counts of phony insurance business statements introduced to regulators 6 counts of untrue entries about the financial situation or solvency of an insurance plan enterprise and a person count of funds laundering conspiracy. If convicted, he faces a most penalty of 20 decades in prison on each individual of the prime counts.

In December 2022, just one of Lindberg’s top executives, Christopher Herwig, pleaded guilty in a related case to conspiring with Lindberg and many others to commit wire fraud, financial commitment advisor fraud, and income laundering, as properly as to the creating of untrue statements in the enterprise of insurance policy.

Individually, Lindberg stays below indictment and is awaiting retrial in a scenario in which he faces quite a few expenses stemming from alleged makes an attempt to bribe the Commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Insurance policy.

The FBI Charlotte Discipline Office environment is investigating the scenario.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan for the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Legal professional Lyndie Freeman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Portion are prosecuting the case.

If you believe that you are a target in this scenario, make sure you get in touch with the Fraud Section’s Target Witness Device toll-free of charge at (888) 549-3945 or by e mail at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. You are also inspired to stop by our webpage for this situation at https://www.justice.gov/legal-vns/case/united-states-v-greg-e-lindberg.

December 14, 2022

FTX Founder Indicted for Fraud, Money Laundering, and Campaign Finance Offenses | OPA

A federal grand jury in Manhattan returned an indictment nowadays charging Samuel Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, 30, of Stanford, California, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to dedicate commodities fraud, conspiracy to dedicate securities fraud, conspiracy to commit dollars laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and dedicate campaign finance violations.

The charges in the indictment arise from an alleged vast-ranging scheme by Bankman-Fried to misappropriate billions of bucks of client money deposited with FTX, the global cryptocurrency exchange founded by Bankman-Fried, and mislead investors and loan companies to FTX and to Alameda Analysis, the cryptocurrency hedge fund also founded by Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried was arrested yesterday in the Bahamas on these costs and will be presented just before a Bahamian justice of the peace decide nowadays.

“The Justice Department has filed expenses alleging that Samuel Bankman-Fried perpetrated a assortment of offenses in a worldwide scheme to deceive and defraud shoppers and lenders of FTX and Alameda, the defendant’s crypto hedge fund, as well as a conspiracy to defraud the United States government,” claimed Lawyer General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege that the defendant conspired to defraud consumers by misappropriating their deposits to defraud loan providers to commit securities fraud and funds laundering and to violate marketing campaign finance legislation. As this indictment demonstrates, the U.S. Division of Justice will aggressively investigate and prosecute alleged legal wrongdoing in the economic method and violations of federal elections legal guidelines. We will go on to function to ensure U.S. funds markets work actually and with the integrity that investors, creditors, and the American folks are entitled to.”

“One month in the past, FTX collapsed, leading to billions of pounds in losses to its shoppers, loan companies, and investors,” reported U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Now, a federal grand jury in New York has indicted the former founder and main executive officer of FTX and charged him with crimes relevant to the phenomenal downfall of that just one-time cryptocurrency trade, like fraud on shoppers, investors, loan providers, and our campaign finance program. As today’s rates make clear, this was not a situation of mismanagement or weak oversight, but of intentional fraud, plain and straightforward.”

“As the indictment now alleges, Bankman-Fried knowingly defrauded the buyers of FTX.com through the misappropriation of the purchaser deposits to pay back charges and money owed of a distinct firm he also owned as nicely as make other investments,” stated Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Discipline Workplace. “If you deceive and defraud your consumers, the FBI will be persistent in our initiatives to convey you to justice.”

According to the indictment, Bankman-Fried was the founder and chief government officer of FTX, an worldwide cryptocurrency exchange. Considering that 2019, Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators perpetrated a plan to defraud shoppers of FTX by misappropriating billions of pounds of those customers’ funds. Bankman-Fried allegedly used billions of bucks of FTX purchaser funds for his individual use, to make investments and thousands and thousands of bucks of political contributions to federal political candidates and committees, and to repay billions of dollars in financial loans owed by Alameda Exploration, a cryptocurrency hedge fund also founded by the Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried also allegedly defrauded creditors to Alameda Analysis and fairness buyers in FTX by concealing his misuse of shopper deposits in monetary information and facts that was supplied to them.

Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators designed tens of millions of pounds in political contributions funded by Alameda Research to federal political candidates and committees in advance of the 2022 election. To conceal the point that those contributions were compensated for applying cash from a corporation and to evade contribution restrictions and reporting requirements, Bankman-Fried brought about contributions to be reported in the names of co-conspirators alternatively than in the title of the correct supply of the funds.

Bankman-Fried is billed with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, and one rely of conspiracy to dedicate funds laundering, every of which carries a utmost sentence of 20 several years in prison. He is also charged with conspiracy to dedicate commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit marketing campaign finance violations, just about every of which carries a greatest sentence of 5 a long time in jail. A federal district courtroom judge will figure out any sentence after contemplating the U.S. Sentencing Suggestions and other statutory things.

U.S. Attorney Typical Merrick B. Garland, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Director in Demand Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Industry Business office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the circumstance with the help of the Justice Department’s Place of work of Global Affairs, Nationwide Cryptocurrency Enforcement Group, Community Integrity Portion, and the DEA, as nicely as that of the Securities and Exchange Fee and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Commission, both of which independently initiated civil proceedings towards Bankman-Fried now. The Bahamas Business of the Attorney-Standard & Ministry of Authorized Affairs as very well as the Royal Bahamas Police Power also supplied support. The Income Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Device and Assistant U.S. Lawyers Samuel Raymond and Thane Rehn for the Southern District of New York also contributed to the investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Undertaking Force is handling the situation. Assistant U.S. Lawyers Nicolas Roos and Danielle Sassoon for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the circumstance.

An indictment is basically an allegation. All defendants are presumed harmless till proven responsible over and above a affordable question in a courtroom of law.