Judge Warns of Jury Harassment, Intimidation in N.C. Insurance Bribery Case

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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered two men convicted of trying to bribe a North Carolina insurance regulator not to contact jurors from their recently completed trial after learning a consultant attempted to do so on their behalf.

U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn Jr. wrote that he learned shortly after the March 5 guilty verdicts against insurance company magnate Greg Lindberg and John Gray that a man associated with the two was reaching out to jurors.

Cogburn said he told the U.S. attorney’s office in western North Carolina about it in order to conduct a “criminal investigation for jury harassment and intimidation.”

“The court will not tolerate attempts to taint the jury’s verdict by applying undue pressure on jury members,” Cogburn said while telling Lindberg, Gray, their attorneys and the consultant not to contact jurors during the ongoing investigation.

The consultant, identified as Matt McCusker, is president of a Convince LLC, a South Carolina-based company that conducts post-trial interviews and performs other litigation services. In a letter dated Tuesday and attached to Cogburn’s order, McCusker said he began reaching out to jurors after the verdict to see if they would be willing to discuss the case and talk about their experience.

“If the juror declined, I thanked them for their time and and told them that they would not be hearing from me again,” he wrote. “To be crystal clear, there was no harassment, intimidation or bullying.”

But Cogburn wrote that a juror who declined to speak to the consultant was “allegedly told, `Don’t you know these men could get life?”’ The two counts Gray and Lindberg were convicted on don’t include possible life sentences, Cogburn wrote.

Cogburn also pointed to the company’s website, which says it can benefit litigants by finding out if a juror “Googled during deliberations.”

“Arm yourself for an appeal. Prepare for the next iteration” of a trial, the site says.

Lindberg and Gray, a Lindberg consultant, were convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. The pair’s sentencing date hasn’t been announced.

Federal prosecutors presented evidence to contend Lindberg, one of North Carolina’s largest political donors in recent years, conspired to funnel money to Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey in exchange for improved regulatory treatment for his companies. Causey, who was not charged, alerted authorities and cooperated in the case against Lindberg, recording conversations.

A third defendant, John Palermo, was acquitted of the two counts. A fourth person indicted in the case last year, former Republican U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, accepted a plea agreement earlier and hasn’t been sentenced yet.

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