Addiction Recovery Care founder pleads not guilty to fraud, money laundering in KY court
Tim Robinson, owner of what was once Kentucky’s largest addiction treatment provider, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of money laundering and wire fraud.
Robinson, 50, was arraigned Wednesday morning in the federal courthouse in Ashland. After he was indicted earlier this month, he resigned as CEO of Addiction Recovery Care, an Eastern Kentucky-based drug treatment center that, at its peak, operated more than 40 centers across the state. The network of ARC facilities has dwindled significantly in recent years following a statewide crackdown on Medicaid billing.
The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky, charges Robinson with fraudulently selling millions of dollars of the same IRS tax credit to two companies in an attempt to “unlawfully enrich himself.” He’s also charged with two counts of money laundering for spending the proceeds of the fraudulent sale. Creditor companies who’ve sued Robinson for defaulting on repayment plans allege Robinson used the money to keep his company from going bankrupt.
Wednesday in Ashland, Robinson, who has not been detained, agreed to a series of stipulations until his trial, which was set for 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10. Robinson in the meantime is barred from opening new bank accounts or liquidating any of his assets.
Earlier Wednesday, the Herald-Leader reported that Robinson had borrowed more than $31.9 million from at least six creditor companies between 2025 and 2026, at a time when his company was laying off thousands of employees and shuttering dozens of its facilities. ARC sold tax credits in exchange for lump sums of money to at least eight companies and, according to court filings, none were fully repaid.
ARC has been under FBI investigation for Medicaid fraud since August 2024. The Herald-Leader, in partnership with ProPublica, reported in April firsthand accounts from former ARC employees and clients who said they were told by ARC to falsely bill Medicaid, or witnessed others billing for services that were not actually provided.
ARC was earlier this year sued by two companies to which Robinson had sold IRS tax credits in exchange for lump sums of money. Both companies allege that when ARC received the IRS tax credits, it illegally kept more than $8 million the companies were owed. They allege ARC refused to repay the money in part so it could pay a preliminary $28 million settlement with the Department of Justice over alleged Medicaid fraud.
Robinson allegedly told those creditor companies he would repay them after he sold his company, which Robinson described in January as imminent but never happened. An initial attempt to sell ARC to Ethema Health fell through in January.
When Robinson was indicted earlier this month, his then-attorney Kent Wicker said 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.”
Wicker has since been replaced by Michael Fox, an Olive Hill-based attorney.
Filing out of the courtroom Wednesday, when Fox and Robinson were asked if they wanted to make a comment about the case or Robinson’s plea, Fox declined, saying “not right now.”
This story may be updated.
This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 1:02 PM.
