DURHAM, N.C., April 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- George A. Vandeman, Chairman of international
healthcare technology company Global Growth, sent the following
letter to the company's employees and business partners:
"Dear Friends and Colleagues:
As you have likely heard, on March 17,
2020, Global Growth and its sole shareholder Greg Lindberg filed a lawsuit against North
Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike
Causey seeking recovery of over $500
million in damages that the lawsuit alleges Mr. Causey's
fraud, deception, and abuse of power has caused Greg Lindberg and the Global Growth group of
companies. I am sending this letter in response to numerous
questions I have received.
Allegations in the lawsuit, which was filed in Federal Court for
the Middle District of North
Carolina, outline Mr. Causey's abuse of power and breach of
the public trust. It states the claims arise out of Mr.
Causey's desire to retaliate against Mr. Lindberg for supporting
Mr. Causey's opponent in the 2016 election, former Commissioner
Wayne Goodwin, and to ensure that
Mr. Lindberg would not support Mr. Causey's political opponents in
the future.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Causey abused the power of the
North Carolina Department of Insurance, the United States
Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in
order to hobble Mr. Lindberg in advance of the 2020 election. In
his efforts to undermine Mr. Lindberg, Mr. Causey made materially
false representations to the State Ethics Board, the FBI and even
under oath in Federal Court.
The lawsuit said: "Causey could not forgive Plaintiffs for
supporting former Commissioner Goodwin's re-election campaign. He
also could not ignore the threat that Plaintiffs and their
financial resources posed to him. Causey knew he needed to sideline
Plaintiffs, and Lindberg in particular, in advance of the 2020
elections."
After taking office, the lawsuit said, Mr. Causey "quickly
intensified the Department's scrutiny of Plaintiffs." This
scrutiny, the lawsuit said, included:
- Encouraging the Department of Insurance to scrutinize every
aspect of Plaintiffs' insurance operations;
- Empowering the North Carolina Department of Insurance to
knowingly circulate materially false and self-serving statements
about Plaintiffs to other state insurance regulators, the credit
markets, media outlets, and others, including federal law
enforcement authorities;
- Citing the instability generated by the materially false
accusations as justification for taking even more radical
steps.
When Mr. Lindberg met with Mr. Causey to address these false
statements, the lawsuit says, Mr. Causey asked Mr. Lindberg,
unprompted, "What's in it for me?"
"This was Causey's 30th undercover recorded conversation and
30th attempt at getting someone at GBIG to offer him money. Never
once had anyone offered him money on these recordings. It was
Causey who brought it up," the lawsuit states.
The suit states, the extortion by Mr. Causey was clear: He
wanted campaign donations or the lies and false statements about
Mr. Lindberg would continue.
According to the lawsuit: "It was at these meetings where Causey
continued soliciting Lindberg's support. The Department's actions
and statements up to this point made it apparent that Plaintiffs
would be the subjects of intense regulatory scrutiny now and in the
future unless Lindberg played along."
The lawsuit also alleged: "Records show that, at the direction
of federal law enforcement authorities, Causey made at least 30
attempts to lure Lindberg and his associates into a campaign
contribution before they had ever mentioned the subject of money.
Even then, the response to Causey's solicitation of "What's in it
for me?" was to set up legal independent expenditure
committees."
While attempting to entrap Mr. Lindberg, Mr. Causey fraudulently
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Lindberg
regarding Causey's apparently newfound interest in restricting
certain investments made by Mr. Lindberg's companies, the suit
says.
According to the lawsuit, "Plaintiffs believe that Causey (or
others acting for him) contacted the media with the expectation
that breaking the story and providing information on background
would kill Plaintiffs' chances of complying with the Memorandum.
Similar leaks continued throughout the investigation. Causey
was correct. The effect of publication on Plaintiffs' business
relationships and planned deals was immediate, widespread, and
devastating."
Mr. Causey also intentionally interfered with Mr. Lindberg's
lending relationships – telling one lender who already lent one of
Mr. Lindberg's companies over $400
million to no longer do business with Mr. Lindberg, the suit
says.
According to the lawsuit, "The fallout from the events that
Causey initiated has been severe. Lindberg is fighting
incarceration and must reclaim his good name and professional
reputation. Global Growth removed Lindberg as Chairman. Plaintiffs
lost over $600 million in assets,
lost investment opportunities, and lost out on potential
acquisitions. They also incurred tens of millions of dollars in
legal fees in the process. All told, Plaintiffs estimate their
actual damages to exceed $500
million.
"Policyholders have likewise directly suffered. They continue to
suffer, too. This is because Lindberg personally guaranteed all
debts of Plaintiffs' insurance companies. With economic losses
exceeding $500 million, policyholders
lost over $500 million in backstop
support. Some policyholders were unable to even redeem their
policies because of the ongoing rehabilitation proceedings. The
harm to policyholders and the financial and reputational damage to
Plaintiffs are only two reasons why this lawsuit is necessary. It
is also necessary because Causey's actions have served neither the
State of North Carolina nor its
citizens. Indeed, Causey's success has only emboldened him to bring
other insurers to heel."
"Causey's actions, and the actions of his administration, are
indicative of a pattern of abusing the trappings of government to
retaliate against and neutralize perceived political foes."
Mr. Lindberg and the Company's attorneys believe that once the
facts are presented, a Court will find that Mr. Causey committed
unlawful First Amendment retaliation, defamation, tortious
interference with existing relationships and prospective economic
advantage and violated Mr. Lindberg and Global Growth's rights to
due process and equal protection.
I hope this explanation gives you a better understanding and
background of the ongoing dispute. It will take some time for this
legal matter to be addressed. In the meantime, it is more important
than ever for all of us to focus on our work responsibilities and
duties to our customers and clients.
With warm regards,
George A. Vandeman
Chairman
Global Growth Holdings, Inc.
For more Greg Lindberg news
please visit: www.greglindberg.com/in-the-news
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SOURCE Global Growth