ARC founder Robinson indicted over IRS credits scheme

ARC founder – Timmy G. Robinson Jr., founder and former CEO of ARC, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Kentucky on wire fraud and money laundering charges tied to fraudulently sold IRS tax credits. Robinson resigned as CEO, and ARC says it conti

Timmy G. Robinson Jr. built ARC out of personal recovery—and then watched it grow into a major addiction treatment provider across Kentucky.

Now, the founder and former CEO of the company is fighting a federal indictment that says he used IRS COVID-19-related tax credits to run a scheme that unlawfully enriched him, then moved the proceeds through two money-laundering counts.

Robinson was criminally indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury. The case was filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The indictment alleges Robinson “devised a scheme” to “unlawfully enrich himself” by selling millions of dollars of the same IRS tax credit to two different companies. It says Robinson charged one deal first and then—after the first buyer—concealed that earlier sale when he sold the same credit again.

The indictment also charges Robinson with two counts of money laundering tied to spending proceeds from the fraudulent sale.

Thursday, Robinson resigned as CEO of ARC, the company spokesperson Vanessa Keeton said. Robinson is 50. He founded the company in 2012 after becoming sober and telling people he felt called by God to help people in the state with addiction.

ARC had once operated more than 40 drug treatment centers around Kentucky. The company has also been under scrutiny: the FBI investigation into Medicaid fraud has been ongoing since July 2024, the FBI confirmed on Friday.

That Medicaid-fraud review did not start in silence. In April, the Lexington Herald-Leader, in partnership with ProPublica, published firsthand accounts from former ARC employees and clients. Those accounts said they were told by ARC to falsely bill Medicaid. or that they witnessed others billing for services that were not actually provided. At the time. ARC said it “has 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.”.

While the federal indictment moves forward, Robinson and ARC point to a different dispute at the center of his legal story so far.

Robinson’s attorney, Kent Wicker, said he and his client were surprised to learn that an indictment had been placed over what he described as a “dispute with some investors that is now pending in a civil courtroom.”

That civil litigation began to escalate earlier this year when ARC was sued by two companies to which Robinson had sold IRS credits. One of those companies is Angelica Capital Trust, described in the filing as Bahamas-based. In the allegations. both companies claim that when ARC received the IRS credits. it illegally kept more than $8 million that they say ARC owed them. They also allege ARC refused to repay in part so it could pay a preliminary $28 million settlement with the Department of Justice over alleged Medicaid fraud.

Robinson has said he would make payments to creditors upon the sale of the company. In January, he described that sale as imminent.

Wicker, in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader and ProPublica, said: “To be clear, Mr. Robinson did not defraud anyone. did not gain anything from the transaction at issue. and he has done nothing but deliver high quality care for over a decade to thousands of Kentuckians. We look forward to defending this case in court.”.

The new indictment ties the alleged conduct directly to ARC’s COVID-era tax credits. Starting in 2023, ARC applied for two COVID-19-related tax credits, totalling nearly $7 million.

The indictment says Robinson sold the rights to the first tax credit in July 2025 to a loan company. Under the agreement described in the indictment. the purchaser would pay ARC $2.7 million in exchange for a future repayment of the tax credit once the IRS funds arrived. Robinson signed the agreement, and later that month the buyer wired ARC the agreed amount.

Soon after, the indictment says Robinson “devised a scheme” to sell that same credit amount to a second company. It alleges he “falsely represented” that the $2.7 million in initial tax credit was available to purchase, and it states Robinson “concealed the prior transactions” to the new buyer.

In November, Robinson signed an agreement with the second buyer. The indictment says the second buyer then sent a wire transfer that included $2.7 million for the twice-sold tax credit.

After the IRS paid ARC the COVID-19 tax refunds in December, the indictment says that “at Robinson’s direction,” ARC spent the Employee Retention Credit—ERC—funds on other operational costs and debt obligations.

As the indictment lands and the civil dispute continues, ARC says the business is still operating. Keeton declined to comment further on the case, citing pending litigation, but she said 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 delivering high-quality care and support to the individuals and families we serve.”

If convicted, Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine—or twice the gain or loss—for the wire fraud count. Each money laundering count carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

For a treatment company that has positioned itself around recovery and care, the stakes extend beyond court filings. The allegations span both federal criminal claims about IRS credits and a separate FBI investigation into Medicaid fraud that has been ongoing since July 2024. And with the company’s leadership now shifted. the central question facing ARC’s patients. families. and employees remains the same: what happens to the people seeking help when legal battles over millions and the machinery of billing and funding collide?.

ARC Timmy G. Robinson Jr. wire fraud money laundering IRS tax credits Employee Retention Credit Eastern District of Kentucky FBI investigation Medicaid fraud Kentucky drug rehab