Oxendine’s Georgia Fraud Trial Must Finally Start April 15, Federal Judge Says

A former Georgia insurance commissioners’ efforts to dismiss insurance fraud and money laundering charges against him have run their course. John Oxendine must face trial starting April 15, a federal judge has decided.

A pretrial conference is set for March 28, giving Oxendine’s attorneys just a few weeks to prepare for the long-awaited trial on charges that Oxendine acted as a middleman between a physician who urged a lab company to bill health insurers millions of dollars for unneeded tests.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones upheld a magistrate judge’s 2023 report that had denied Oxendine’s motion to dismiss the charges.

“This Court agrees with the Magistrate Judge that the definition of ‘kickback’ accurately describes what is alleged to have occurred in the superseding indictment,” Jones wrote in his March 7 order. “Furthermore, the Court agrees that use of the word ‘kickback’ in this context is not unfairly prejudicial. Therefore, the Objections by Defendant are without merit.”

Oxendine was Georgia insurance commissioner for four terms, from 1994 to 2010. His administration was marked by controversies as well as victories. He then ran unsuccessfully for governor. In 2022, he was indicted by a federal grand jury. Jones said in his order last week that the evidence outlined by prosecutors was clear, that Oxendine’s due process was not violated, the charges were not time-barred, and a statement he gave to investigators was not coerced.

The judge cited the magistrate’s report and the indictment, noting that Oxendine in 2015 gave a speech during a meeting sponsored by the doctor, in which Oxendine told doctors they needed to order the tests. Dr. Jeffrey Gallups, who was convicted in 2022 of requiring his clinics to order the unnecessary tests, had agreed to split the proceeds from insurance companies with the lab testing firm.

When the lab firm paid the alleged kickbacks, Oxendine used much of the money to provide donations to charity and to pay attorney fees. But he allegedly kept more than $40,000 for himself, the court documents contend.