ATLANTA — The U.S. Attorney in Atlanta announced Friday that ex-Georgia insurance commissioner John Oxendine has been indicted on federal healthcare fraud and money laundering charges.
Oxendine was the state’s insurance commissioner from 1995 to 2011, leaving office after a run for governor in 2010 that faced ethics scrutiny over allegations he used campaign funds to buy a house, lease luxury cars and join a private club.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan K. Buchanan, the grand jury indictment was issued earlier this week.
“The indictment alleges that Oxendine conspired to obtain kickbacks for unnecessary genetic and toxicology lab tests, and used his insurance business to hide those kickbacks,” Buchanan said in a release. “Patients go to their healthcare provider for treatment with the expectation that their treatment or test is necessary, not a scam for fraud.”