Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine denies knowingly being involved in a fraudulent scheme and has asked for the criminal charges against him to be dismissed.
A Nov. 4 defense filing in federal court in Atlanta says the indictment against Oxendine does not allege knowledge or criminal intent on his part. She further asserts that the claims are time-barred.
Oxendine was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering between 2015 and 2017 by a federal grand jury on May 17, 2022. He pleaded not guilty in a first appearance in court.
Oxendine served as state insurance commissioner from 1995 to 2011, before the alleged plot.
In formally asking for the charges to be dismissed, Atlanta attorneys Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg argue that the health care fraud law carries an “increased burden of intent” that has not been met. According to defense attorneys, the indictment does not allege that Oxendine knew the medical claims submitted were false, nor does it specifically allege how Oxendine’s presence at a meeting in Dallas caused him to fail. knowingly involved in a criminal conspiracy.
“[T]The indictment vaguely describes conduct that would constitute a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud – but entirely fails to allege any element of knowledge on Mr Oxendine’s part. Rather, the indictment alleges acts, which otherwise are not violations of the law, in the hope that the cumulative effect casts a shadow of guilt over Mr. Oxendine,” his lawyers wrote.
The defense further argues that the charges exceed the five-year statute of limitations, which means an overt act must have taken place on or after May 17, 2017. The indictment lists one act during that time — a $42 check paid to Oxendine Insurance Services — but all of the other acts alleged in the indictment occurred outside the five-year statute of limitations. “While trying to start the whole case on that one check, the indictment does not allege that the check for $42 was actually a profit from the alleged health care fraud and that Mr. . Oxendine knew it was a profit,” claims the defence.
According to information presented to the court, Oxendine allegedly conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and others to submit fraudulent insurance claims for medically unnecessary tests. As part of the alleged scheme, a Texas lab company agreed to pay Oxendine and Gallups a bribe of 50% of the net profit. In total, the lab company submitted claims of more than $2,500,000 for Gallups practice-ordered lab tests, according to prosecutors, who say insurance companies paid more than $600,000 to following these complaints. The lab company then allegedly paid $260,000 in bribes through Oxendine’s insurance services business.
At the time of the indictment, Oxendine’s attorneys told Insurance Journal that their client was “targeted in this investigation because of his name and his seriousness, but to be clear, he did not violate any law and is innocent of this indictment”.
Gallups previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was sentenced to 36 months in prison in June.
Oxendine, who ran for governor in 2010 but lost the Republican primary, was investigated by the state Ethics Commission into his campaign finances in 2009 and settled the last of those cases last May, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Top photo: Republican gubernatorial hopeful John Oxendine talks to reporters before polls close to report results on primary election night in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo /John Friends)
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