A former Georgia state official pled guilty to conspiring to committee health care fraud Friday in the Northern District of Georgia Federal Court.

John Oxendine, who once served as Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance, acknowledged he was a co-conspirator and referred unnecessary medical tests to a lab in Texas in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks, according to a press release from the court.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said Oxendine co-conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and others to submit fraudulent insurance claims to several labs, including Next Health in Texas where Oxendine and Dr. Gallups received kickbacks of 50 percent of the net profit submitted by the Dr. Gallup’s Ear, Nose and Throat practice. Federal investigations further uncovered that Oxendine further gave a presentation at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead where the court says he pressured doctors in Gallups’ practice to order unnecessary tests.

Insurance companies paid almost $700,000 to Next Health because of the fraudulent claims, and Next Health said they paid kickbacks to Oxendine and Dr. Gallups of $260,000. Aside from the insurance benefits paid for the unnecessary tests, some patients were billed up to $18,000 for the unnecessarily ordered tests.

A compliance officer at Dr. Gallup’s practice detected the fraud.

Sentencing for Oxendine is scheduled for July 12 where he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Oxendine severed four terms as Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner and was first elected in 1994 and then reelected in 1998, 2002, and 2006.