Timmy G. Robinson Jr., founder and owner of what was once Kentucky’s largest drug treatment company, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of electronic fraud and money laundering.
The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky, accuses Robinson of fraudulently selling millions of dollars of the same IRS tax credit to two companies. Robinson “devised a scheme” to “illegally enrich himself” by selling these tax credits to two parties, the indictment states. Robinson is also charged with two counts of money laundering for spending the proceeds of the fraudulent sale.
Robinson has resigned as CEO of ARC, company spokeswoman Vanessa Keeton said Thursday. Robinson, 50, founded the company in 2012 after getting sober and telling people he felt called by God to help the state’s addicted people.
The ARC, which at one point operated more than 40 drug treatment centers across the state, is under FBI investigation for Medicaid fraud since July 2024. This investigation is ongoing, the FBI confirmed Friday. THE Lexington Herald-Leader, in partnership with ProPublicareported in April first-hand accounts from former ARC employees and clients who said ARC directed them to falsely bill Medicaid, or saw others billing for services that were not actually provided. The company said at the time that it “never knowingly or fraudulently billed Medicaid for services, and there is no evidence that the organization encouraged employees to falsify group notes for billing purposes.”
Robinson’s attorney, Kent Wicker, said he and his client were surprised to learn that an indictment had been filed over a “dispute with certain investors that is now pending in civil court.”
This dispute intensified earlier this year, when the CRA was sued by two companies to which Robinson had sold IRS credits, including the Angelica Capital Trust, based in the Bahamas. But both companies claim that when the CRA received the credits from the IRS, it illegally withheld more than $8 million owed to them. They allege that ARC refused to refund part of the money so it could pay a preliminary sum. $28 million settlement with the Department of Justice over alleged Medicaid fraud. Robinson said he would make payments to creditors as soon as sale of businesswhich he described in January as imminent.
“To be clear, Mr. Robinson did not defraud anyone, gained nothing from the transaction in question and has done nothing but provide high-quality care for over a decade to thousands of Kentuckians,” Wicker said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader and ProPublica. “We look forward to defending this case in court.”
Starting in 2023, the CRA claimed two COVID-19 tax credits, totaling almost $7 million.
In July 2025, Robinson sold the rights to the first tax credit to a loan company, the indictment states. Under the terms of the agreement, the buyer would pay the CRA $2.7 million in exchange for a future refund of the tax credit once the IRS funds arrive. Robinson signed this agreement, and later that month the buyer transferred the agreed amount to ARC.
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Shortly thereafter, according to the indictment, Robinson “devised a scheme” to sell the same amount of credit to a second company and, in doing so, “falsely represented” that the original $2.7 million in tax credit was available for purchase. “Robinson concealed prior transactions” from the new buyer, according to the indictment.
In November, Robinson signed a deal with the second buyer, who sent a wire transfer that included $2.7 million for the twice-sold tax credit.
In December, when the IRS paid the CRA COVID-19 tax refunds, “under Robinson’s leadership, the CRA spent the ERC [Employee Retention Credit] funds for other operational costs and debt obligations,” the indictment states.
Keeton declined to comment further on the matter, citing pending litigation. However, she said the ARC continues to operate normally.
“All facilities, programs and services remain open and fully operational,” Keeton said in an emailed statement. “Our leadership team, employees and clinical staff remain committed to providing high-quality care and support to the individuals and families we serve. »
Robinson faces 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss, on the wire fraud charge. Each count of money laundering is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
