Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner faces ethics charges

John Oxendine says the charges are unfounded and challenges ethics board to take him to court and prove their allegations

Insurance News

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Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine is under fire again—or still. The ever-colorful Oxendine is being investigated by the state ethics commission for accepting over-the-limit campaign contributions when he ran for governor in 2010.
 
He lost in the Republican primary in 2010 and did not qualify for the run-off or the general election, which has led to additional allegations that he raised money for the general election, which was never returned to contributors.
 
Oxendine, of course, says the ethics commission is wasting his time and the state’s money, calling the claims “wild and unsubstantiated.”
 
State law says money raised for a race never entered has to be returned to contributors or in some cases may be given to charity. The law does not say how quickly the money needs to be returned. Oxendine has said he is saving the money in case he needs it for his defense, leading his critics to contend that would not be a legal use of political contributions.
 
He has publicly challenged the ethics commission to take him to court where, he says, he could prove his innocence.
 
An earlier case alleging that he accepted more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from insurance companies has been dropped.
 

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