Former Insurance Commissioner Disbarred For Health Care Fraud Conspiracy
A convicted attorney has been disbarred by the Georgia Supreme Court
Oxendine, who has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1987, pled guilty in March 2024 pursuant to a negotiated agreement to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1347, a felony, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was sentenced in July 2024 to 42 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, plus fines, a special assessment, and more than $750,000 in restitution. In his petition for voluntary surrender, Oxendine admits that he is subject to Bar Rule 4-106 (setting procedures for handling disciplinary matters related to an attorney’s conviction of a crime) and that, by virtue of his felony conviction, he violated Rule 8.4 (a) (2) (lawyer shall not be convicted of a felony) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (“GRPC”), see Bar Rule 4-102 (d), the maximum penalty for which is disbarment. Based on those admissions, Oxendine requests that the Court accept his petition to voluntarily surrender his license to practice law, which is tantamount to disbarment.
The conviction was described in a press release of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia
John Oxendine, the former Georgia Insurance Commissioner, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in connection with unnecessary lab testing.
“Oxendine abused his position as the former Georgia Insurance Commissioner by undermining the integrity of the state’s healthcare system when he conspired with a physician to order hundreds of unnecessary and costly lab tests,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This case demonstrates our office’s commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to hold individuals accountable who prioritize personal greed at the expense of the public’s trust.”
“John Oxendine was motivated more by personal greed than his duty to patients and the citizens of Georgia whom he used to represent,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Not only did the former state insurance commissioner line his pockets off the unnecessary tests, but he also directed another to lie to federal agents to try and cover up the fraud. The FBI will continue to investigate healthcare fraud to ensure those who abuse the system are brought to justice.”
“The sentence imposed today reaffirms our commitment to protecting the integrity of our nation’s health insurance programs from those who illegally profit through fraudulent activities,” said Tamala E. Miles of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our federal law enforcement partners to bring bad actors who defraud our programs to justice.”
(Mike Frisch)