Former insurance executive Greg Lindberg, who built a conglomerate of more than 100 companies before his empire collapsed amid fraud allegations and a bribery scandal, has been ordered by a North Carolina court to pay $526.2 million to a group of insurers he is accused of defrauding.
The judgment from the Wake County Superior Court stems from fraud and breach of contract claims brought by the carriers. Global Growth Holdings Inc. and New England Capital LLC were also named as defendants.
Lindberg launched his first venture – a health insurance compliance newsletter – while still attending Yale University in 1991, later transforming it into the Durham-based conglomerate Eli Global. According to court records, he began acquiring insurance companies in 2014, drawn to the large pools of assets retained by such firms to fulfill payouts.
By 2019, he had acquired over 100 companies and loaned approximately $2 billion from these insurers to his affiliated corporations.
As the North Carolina Court of Appeals noted in its Southland v. Lindberg ruling: "Lindberg created a scheme in which he caused $1.2 billion held for Plaintiffs' policyholders to be invested into other non-insurance companies that he also owned or controlled."
Lindberg pleaded guilty in November 2024 to orchestrating a $2 billion fraud and money laundering scheme. According to the US Department of Justice, he and his associates funneled funds through "circular transactions" into companies he controlled while making misleading statements to regulators and rating agencies.
The insurers alleged they were misled into signing revolving credit agreements and contracts that amended existing loan arrangements – providing Lindberg and his affiliates with significant funds while causing financial harm to the carriers.
According to the court order, the loan amendments resulted in $77 million in debt reduction for the defendants, while Colorado Bankers Life extended nearly $40 million in loans to a Lindberg-affiliated company.
The Superior Court ruled in favor of the insurers in May 2022, finding breach of contract and fraud. Lindberg filed multiple appeals, petitioning the Supreme Court of North Carolina for discretionary review in 2023, but the state high court denied that request in October 2025, returning the matter to the Superior Court for final awards.
Colorado Bankers Life received $478.8 million, the largest award among the insurers. Southland National Insurance Corp. was awarded $33.8 million, while Bankers Life Insurance Co. received $13.7 million.
