Report: Tycoon Had Dozens of Employees Spy on Women

When insurance tycoon Greg Lindberg was interested in a woman, he had a highly unusual way of showing it, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. The sources, including former security staffers, say Lindberg employed dozens of operatives to spy on women he was dating or viewed as potential romantic partners, including a Miss Texas International and a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. The former staffers say the 49-year-old's surveillance operations began after he separated from his wife in 2017. They say he had extensive dossiers prepared on the women, including surreptitious photos. The staffers say operatives attached GPS trackers to some of the vehicles of Lindberg's "interests"—and would report back to him if the women were spotted with other men.

The former security staffers say that in one case, an operative enrolled in the same culinary school where a Lindberg interest was taking classes. In another, an agent rented a $5,000-a-month LA-area apartment across the hall from a woman. A rep for Lindberg says he simply wanted "background checks" conducted to ensure he didn't begin "a long-term relationship with anyone who was breaking the law, using illegal drugs, associating with less-than-reputable people or other such activity." But Lindberg is accused of more than just creepy behavior. The tycoon was indicted earlier this year on bribery and conspiracy charges in connection with an alleged attempt to bribe North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, the Washington Post reports. One of his co-accused, former state GOP chairman Robert Hayes, pleaded guilty this week to lying to the FBI and may testify against Lindberg and two other suspects. (More political donors stories.)