The public should push for Causey’s investigation, Lindberg says.
ORLANDO, FL, July 31, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ — Mike Causey continues to go after Greg Lindberg to cover up for his own corrupt acts, Lindberg says. At the very same time that Causey hatched his scheme to entrap Lindberg, he was sued in October 2017 by the owner of Cannon Surety, Dallas McClain.
The lawsuit stated that Causey enabled and instructed “the abuse of power, while continuing to engage in outright influence peddling and overt criminal political corruption through ‘Pay to Play’ politics.”
Dallas McClain subsequently filed an additional lawsuit this summer alleging that “Internal DOI documents reveal that [Mike Causey and Jackie Obusek] plotted to shut down Mr. McClain’s company astonishingly in order to cut off his funds so he could not protect and/or defend himself and Cannon in a lawsuit he was then pursuing against a third-party surety competitor and others who were friends and supporters of [Causey and Obusek].”
An affidavit in the McClain lawsuit stated that Causey admitted that he “shut down Cannon” at the request of certain of his political supporters. The lawsuit demonstrated that Causey put Dallas McClain’s company out of business for purely political reasons.
When his behavior was discovered, Causey went to the FBI with false allegations about Lindberg so his own actions would not be investigated. And the fact that Lindberg was the No. 1 supporter of Causey’s political rival and had funded “attack” ads (albeit truthful) about Mike Causey made Lindberg an attractive target for Causey.
As Lindberg’s attorney said during his trial: “Once [Causey] becomes aware that [Dallas McClain] is submitting this information to the FBI and they threaten him with a federal grand jury regarding his activities, it’s our belief that Causey immediately initiated an investigation against Greg Lindberg and his companies with the ulterior motive of trying to deflect attention from himself and aligning himself with law enforcement.”
Read more at: https://www.wral.com/in-federal-suit-indicted-bail-bonds-owner-alleges-conspiracy-by-top-state-officials/19228657/
According to Lindberg, this would explain why Causey targeted him with an aggressive 8-month entrapment scheme, replete with Causey’s outright lies, demands for secret meetings, false pretenses, and other activities that an honest insurance regulator would never do.
The bottom line is that Causey positioned himself to be the government’s star witness — making it far less likely the FBI would dirty up its own confidential informant, much less truly investigate him. That is exemplified by the FBI’s cursory interviews of Causey’s accusers — with no follow up whatsoever. Thus, the FBI was aware of the Cannon Surety issue and chose to look the other way — Causey’s way. The public has a right to expect more of the FBI and should insist on an investigation, Lindberg says.
Mike Causey Spent 8 Months Aggressively Demanding Donations From Lindberg Solely To Try To Entrap Him, According to Lindberg
Mike Causey induced the FBI to start a bribery investigation of Lindberg before any alleged bribe occurred. How could that be? At trial, it came out that Mike Causey told the FBI about an alleged $110,000 “bribe.” That key fact launched the FBI investigation. It came out two years later that the $110,000 bribe NEVER happened (“the Lie”). That little fact did not come out until trial, when Lindberg’s attorneys proved it was completely false. That is not a contested fact. It was 100% false. Did the DOJ hit pause? Did they reassess their 2 year multi-million dollar investigation and high publicity indictment? Nope. The train had left the station and Greg Lindberg was getting prosecuted — no matter what. And an investigation started on a blatant lie had Lindberg (with no criminal record) facing 20 years in prison.
After these lies and at Causey’s constant urging (i.e., 1,100 texts and calls), the FBI spent eight months, hundreds of hours, and made over 107 attempts to try to entrap Lindberg. In most instances, this type of aggressive entrapment by law enforcement is not permitted. All the while, Causey repeatedly demanded large donations from Lindberg, stating “hell, I’m the insurance commissioner,” and asking, “what’s in it for me?”
Mr. Causey had enormous power over Lindberg’s insurance companies and that continues to be the case today. What was Lindberg supposed to do when Causey aggressively and repeatedly demanded donations? Lindberg didn’t have a choice but to concede to his demands for donations. Lindberg took assurance from Causey’s agreement that “there was nothing wrong with” the donations he was demanding. As we later found out, Causey forced Lindberg’s insurance companies into rehabilitation anyway based on lies he told the Wall Street Journal.
Did Mike Causey Lie To The FBI?
Lying to the FBI is a felony. Lindberg says that “It is my belief and I strongly believe it was unequivocally proven at my trial that Causey lied to the FBI.” Did they charge him. No. Why not? No good reason. Again, Mike Causey initiated an FBI investigation of Lindberg by lying to them (and subsequently to the court), saying in late 2017 that he had received and returned a $110,000 donation from Lindberg — the Lie. The truth? No such donation occurred. It is that simple.
When that investigation was not moving fast enough, Causey poured gas on the fire. Specifically, Causey told the FBI that one of Lindberg’s largest assets was “worthless” — despite numerous audits, valuations, and an audited personal financial statement, all of which was provided to support the asset’s value. Lindberg reports that a buyer recently offered $2 billion including deferred consideration for this one asset that Causey said was worthless.
The absurd inflammatory theory by Causey that started this entire case was proven 100% false. But not before the FBI, the Wall Street Journal and others took Causey’s lies — akin to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater — at face value.
Lindberg says, Causey also misled people about the performance of the Lindberg group of companies. Lindberg says that his group of investments in aggregate delivered $305 million in adjusted EBITDA last year on $1.7 billion in revenue – a 16% increase in year over year results.
For more information, see: https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/499379/despite-ongoing-legal-battles-greg-lindbergs-group-of-companies-achieve-record-revenues-of-17-billion
“These strong operating results indicate that the policyholders of my insurance companies are well secured by the loans they have made to these companies,” Lindberg says. “Despite the multiple legal battles we are engaged in, the group of investments is performing very well,” Lindberg says.
Mike Causey Lied Under Oath At Lindberg’s Trial, Lindberg Believes
Mike Causey, in response to basic questions on the stand during the trial, said “I do not recall” over 100 times and may have perjured himself during trial. Meanwhile, Causey miraculously had a perfect memory for the prosecution’s questions. Like lying to the FBI, committing perjury at trial is a federal felony. However, Causey has not been prosecuted and various law enforcement agencies have not responded to requests for an investigation into Causey’s testimony.
“I believe Causey lied (again) under oath at my trial, denying the fact that he was the one who demanded the secret meetings with me. The FBI agents who watched his testimony knew he was not telling the truth. But not a peep out of them about Causey perjuring himself during my recent trial. The prosecution knew better, too,” says Lindberg.
Causey also did not tell the jury and the Court about the fact that he was the one who demanded a personal check from Lindberg — which Lindberg refused to give him. “If I was trying to bribe the guy, why would I refuse to give him a personal check?” says Lindberg. Causey claimed that he was “not aware” of Lindberg during the 2016 election — despite telling staffers that he targeted Lindberg because Lindberg supported his opponent in the 2016 election.
Causey’s cell phone revealed that he was literally researching Lindberg at all hours of the day and night for almost a year. Causey also had over 1,100 communications with the FBI about Lindberg. Causey also lied to the court about his retaliatory motives even when confronted with a text that he sent to the FBI gleefully reporting that “things are closing in on Greg Lindberg.” “Does that sound like an unbiased witness or someone with an agenda?” asks Lindberg.
Causey was also asked (under oath) why he rejected Lindberg’s initial $5,000 donation (and no one else’s) to his campaign when he very first took office. Causey claimed (under oath) he was concerned and rejected all the donations from owners of companies he regulated. False. His campaign donation records show otherwise. At the same time that he was supposedly concerned about alleged donations from me, Causey received large donations from the owners of other insurers as well as large donations from the political action committees for numerous other North Carolina insurers. In fact, Causey had previously testified in a deposition in October of 2017 that he did not find it inappropriate to receive large donations from companies he regulated – the opposite of what he said under oath in the trial.
Mike Causey Abused The Power Of the FBI For His Own Political Gain, Lindberg Says
The best evidence of Causey’s mindset in targeting Lindberg with an entrapment scheme comes from his own words. On the last day of the FBI investigation, Causey sent a celebratory text to the FBI entitled: “How to make [people] your bitches.” It was a step-by-step article on how to set people up. This from an elected Insurance Commissioner. The FBI’s agent response? “Thanks…and…good!”
The lead FBI agent even admitted in court that he never investigated the motives of Causey, including why Causey was pushing so hard for the FBI to investigate Lindberg. The agent said he never checked public records showing that Lindberg was the largest supporter of Causey’s opponent in the bitterly contested 2016 election.
About Greg Lindberg
Greg Lindberg is a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. Through his successful career, Lindberg has reimagined and transformed hundreds of businesses, employed thousands of people, empowered leaders and impacted communities through philanthropic efforts. His experiences as a leader and challenges have inspired him to empower people to achieve optimal success through wellness, longevity and leadership. Lindberg also has authored two books: Failing Early & Failing Often: How to Turn Your Adversity into Advantage and 633 Days Inside: Lessons on Life and Leadership. For more information, visit GregLindberg.com.
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