A former Georgia insurance coverage commissioner has been indicted on federal prices associated to an alleged well being care scheme.
A federal grand jury final Tuesday indicted John Oxendine on prices of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and conspiracy to commit cash laundering. He pleaded not responsible throughout an preliminary court docket look Friday, in accordance with on-line court docket data.
“The indictment alleges that Oxendine conspired to acquire kickbacks for pointless genetic and toxicology lab exams, and used his insurance coverage enterprise to cover these kickbacks,” U.S. Lawyer Ryan Buchanan mentioned in a information launch. “Sufferers go to their healthcare supplier for remedy with the expectation that their remedy or take a look at is critical, not a rip-off for fraud.”
Prosecutors say Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and others to submit fraudulent insurance coverage claims for medically pointless lab exams to a lab in Texas. The lab firm, Oxendine and Gallups entered into an settlement for the corporate to pay Gallups a kickback of fifty% of the revenue for specimens submitted by Gallups’ apply for testing, the indictment says. The lab firm paid the kickbacks by way of Oxendine, who saved a part of the cash for himself and likewise used a few of it to pay sure money owed for Gallups, the indictment says.
The lab firm submitted claims for greater than $2.5 million for lab exams ordered by Gallups’ apply, and insurance coverage corporations paid greater than $600,000 to the lab firm for these claims, prosecutors mentioned. The lab firm then paid $260,000 in kickbacks by way of Oxendine’s insurance coverage enterprise, prosecutors mentioned. Oxendine then paid a $150,000 charitable contribution and $70,000 in lawyer charges for Gallups, prosecutors mentioned.
Gallups was charged final yr with well being care fraud and pleaded responsible in October. He’s set to be scheduled subsequent month, in accordance with court docket data.
Oxendine’s protection attorneys, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, mentioned in an emailed assertion that Oxendine “has been focused on this investigation due to his identify and gravitas, however to be clear, he has not damaged any legal guidelines and is harmless of this indictment.”
Oxendine served as state insurance coverage commissioner from 1995 to 2011. He ran for governor in 2010 however misplaced the Republican major.
The state ethics fee started investigating and prosecuting marketing campaign finance instances towards him in 2009 and settled the final of these instances earlier this month, The Atlanta Journal-Structure reported.
Photograph: John Oxendine talks to reporters earlier than polls end reporting outcomes on major election night time, in Atlanta, Tuesday July 20, 2010. (AP Photograph/John Amis)
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