Former Georgia insurance commissioner Oxendine indicted

A former Georgia insurance policies commissioner has been indicted on federal costs associated to an alleged health and fitness care plan.

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted John Oxendine on expenses of conspiracy to commit well being treatment fraud and conspiracy to dedicate cash laundering. He pleaded not guilty all through an initial court visual appeal Friday, in accordance to on the internet court information.

“The indictment alleges that Oxendine conspired to receive kickbacks for pointless genetic and toxicology lab checks, and applied his insurance policy business enterprise to hide individuals kickbacks,” U.S. Legal professional Ryan Buchanan said in a information release. “Patients go to their healthcare provider for treatment method with the expectation that their therapy or examination is necessary, not a fraud for fraud.”

Prosecutors say Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and many others to post fraudulent insurance plan statements for medically needless lab tests to a lab in Texas. The lab company, Oxendine and Gallups entered into an settlement for the corporation to pay Gallups a kickback of 50% of the profit for specimens submitted by Gallups’ observe for screening, the indictment claims. The lab corporation paid out the kickbacks by Oxendine, who retained portion of the money for himself and also made use of some of it to pay certain money owed for Gallups, the indictment suggests.

The lab enterprise submitted promises for much more than $2.5 million for lab checks purchased by Gallups’ practice, and insurance policy providers paid far more than $600,000 to the lab enterprise for these promises, prosecutors mentioned. The lab firm then paid out $260,000 in kickbacks via Oxendine’s insurance plan enterprise, prosecutors mentioned. Oxendine then paid a $150,000 charitable contribution and $70,000 in lawyer fees for Gallups, prosecutors mentioned.

Gallups was charged past 12 months with wellbeing care fraud and pleaded guilty in Oct. He is set to be scheduled future month, according to court documents.

Oxendine’s protection attorneys, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, stated in an emailed assertion that Oxendine “has been targeted in this investigation due to the fact of his title and gravitas, but to be apparent, he has not broken any legislation and is innocent of this indictment.”

Oxendine served as state insurance plan commissioner from 1995 to 2011. He ran for governor in 2010 but missing the Republican key.

The point out ethics commission commenced investigating and prosecuting marketing campaign finance conditions against him in 2009 and settled the previous of all those circumstances previously this month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.