Trump pardons former GOP congressman Robin Hayes, several others with NC ties

Former Republican Congressman Robin Hayes, swept up in one of North Carolina’s worst political corruption scandals, received a pardon from President Donald Trump that was announced early Wednesday in the final hours of his presidency.

Trump also pardoned four other Charlotte-area figures, including a member of a prominent NASCAR family who was convicted of insider trading, the former CEO of a cleaning company, and the head of a prominent road-building company who went to prison in 2015 for defrauding the federal government. The CEO of a holding company that owns and operates several of Charlotte’s priciest restaurants also was on the presidential pardons list.

In a statement released by his attorney, Kearns Davis of Greensboro, Hayes expressed gratitude for his pardon.

“I am extremely grateful to President Trump for considering my case,” the 75-year-old said. “I am also incredibly thankful for the constant prayer blessed upon me by friends and supporters over the past few years.”

In a deal with prosecutors to avoid trial on public-corruption charges and a potentially long prison term, Hayes pleaded guilty in 2019 to lying to the FBI in connection with the plot to bribe Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

Two others, including Durham billionaire businessman Greg Lindberg, were convicted in 2020 after a Charlotte trial.

Hayes gets probation for his role in one of NC’s biggest public corruption cases

Lindberg, one of the state’s biggest political donors, was considered a candidate for a Trump pardon that never came.

Instead it went to Hayes, who at the time of his arrest was chairman of the state Republican Party. He received probation in return for his cooperation with prosecutors.

Lindberg, on the other hand, has begun a seven-year sentence while he appeals his conviction.

Lindberg gets more than 7 years for trying to bribe elected official; says he’ll appeal

“Your honor, I’m incredibly sorry,” Hayes told U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn at his sentencing, his voice breaking. “I’ve caused embarrassment, grief, (and) pain to members of my family. I apologize for what I’ve done. I’ll live with this for as long as I live.”

Now his record, at least, is clean. In his statement, Hayes said he planned to continue his charitable work while looking forward “with enthusiasm towards new life adventures” with his children and grandchildren.

In a statement, the White House said the pardon had the backing of Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, and other members of the state’s congressional delegation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, which prosecuted the case, said it would not comment on the pardon, according to spokeswoman Lia Bantavani.

‘More than happy to help’

Hayes is the grandson of the founder of one-time textile giant Cannon Mills, a former state legislator from Concord and the GOP’s 1996 nominee for governor.

In 2018, when he was state Republican chairman, Hayes said he was “more than happy to help” funnel a portion of up to $2 million from Lindberg to Causey in return for the insurance commissioner’s pledge to remove an assistant who was regulating some of Lindberg’s businesses.

Instead, Causey went to the FBI.

Charlotte businessman pardoned

Trump’s list of 143 pardons and commutations included a pardon for former Charlotte businessman Patrick Swisher, who pleaded guilty and was sent to prison almost two decades ago in a federal tax evasion case.

Swisher was an entrepreneur and former football star at Appalachian State who made a fortune in the toilet-sanitizing business. He founded Swisher Hygiene, and served about 18 months of his 2 1/2-year sentence. He later sold the company and started a new one after his release from prison.

Federal prosecutors had accused Swisher of failing to report more than $1.9 million in stock sales on his 1996 and 1997 tax returns, and said Swisher had evaded about $750,000 in federal income taxes, an Observer story on his 2002 sentencing said. In the courtroom, the Observer reported, Swisher acknowledged his wrongdoing and apologized.

After the sentencing, the Observer reported that a prosecutor told journalists, “This is a significant sentence that we hope deters other criminal conduct... President (George W.) Bush has referred to a new ethic of corporate responsibility. This is an example of corporate lack of responsibility.”

According to the Trump White House, Swisher’s pardon had the support of Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop of Charlotte. Swisher also has mentored former felons and helped them re-integrate into society, according to the White House.

Other area pardons

Three other recipients of Trump pardons — James Hayes, Drew Boggs and Jeffrey Conway — have local ties.

James Hayes was embroiled in an insider-trading scandal that skimmed off $11 million in illicit profits, which the conspirators attempted to launder in part through Las Vegas casinos and the buying and selling of gold bars.

James Hayes — no relation to Robin Hayes — is the nephew of NASCAR team owner and automotive magnate Rick Hendrick of Charlotte.

Prior to his conviction, James Hayes raced in 2007 and 2008 for Hendrick and Ken Schrader in NASCAR’s lower level Camping World East Series, now called the K&N Pro Series East.

Hendrick, who the White House says supported Trump’s decision, was the recipient of a pardon himself — from President Bill Clinton in 2000. In 1997, Hendrick pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection with a bribery and kickback scandal involving Honda Motor Co.

Retired NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon also supported Trump’s pardoning of James Hayes, the White House said.

In an interview with the Observer, Gordon said, “I’ve known Jamie for years through the Hendrick family, him being Rick’s nephew, and I provided a character reference letter... and was happy to do so.”

Boggs, of Waxhaw, received a 30-month sentence in 2015 after pleading guilty to a fraudulent minority-contractor scheme that earned his company some $90 million in federal highway work it otherwise would not have received.

Since his release in 2017, according to the White House, Boggs has rebuilt his company and dedicated time and financial resources to his community.

Among those supporting Boggs’ pardon were Tony Cox, chairman of the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Meanwhile, Jeff Conway, CEO of Charlotte Prime LLC, which operates Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Napa Bistro locations in Charlotte, and the Pump House in Rock Hill, also received a full pardon. Federal records indicate Conway left prison in 2004. Published reports at the time said Conway was sentenced to 13 months for ordering his employees to doctor reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The White House statement said Trump’s pardon had the support of Conway’s business partners, law enforcement and members of his community.

More congressional clemency

Robin Hayes, who has completed his probation, was one of three former Republican congressman who received pardons shortly after midnight from Trump at the beginning of the president’s last day in office.

The others, Rick Renzi of Arizona and Duke Cunningham of California, had finished prison terms tied to corruption convictions.

Meanwhile, two former Republican congressmen from North Carolina were involved in other cases.

Mark Walker was among those supporting Eliyahu Weinstein. He was serving his eighth year of a 24-year sentence for a real estate investment fraud when Trump commuted his sentence.

And George Holding joined others in favor of Trump’s pardon for Elliott Broidy, a former Republican National Committee official convicted on one count of conspiracy to serve as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal.

Trump also pardoned former adviser Steve Bannon, the rapper Lil Wayne, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, imprisoned for 28 years on a corruption charge.

Observer staff writers Alex Andrejev and Adam Bell contributed

This is a developing story