Fmr. Ky. state lawmaker sentenced for fraud, money laundering

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT/WKYT/HERALD-LEADER) - Former Kentucky State Representative Robert Goforth was sentenced to two years and one month in federal prison for health care fraud and money laundering.

The Herald-Leader reported a district judge imposed the sentence Monday in Laurel County at a federal courthouse.

Goforth will have to pay $2.7 million in restitution for the fraud and $10,000 in fines. As of Monday, he had paid more than $1 million in restitution, according to court testimony.

Back in May, Goforth pleaded guilty to charges related to health care fraud. He admitted a Clay County pharmacy he owned billed insurance companies, along with Medicare and Medicaid, for prescriptions customers did not pick up.

Goforth will also have two years of supervised release after he’s out of prison.

“I am ashamed of myself,” Goforth told the judge on Monday. “I tried to be a good role model, and all of the work I did will be tainted forever by the decisions I made to commit these crimes.”

Goforth resigned from his seat in the Kentucky House in August of last year, citing “family and personal circumstances that demand my full attention and focus” in his resignation letter. He was facing domestic violence charges stemming from an incident involving his wife back in April 2020. According to police reports, his wife said Goforth tried to tie her up several times, hit her on the forehead, and tried to strangle her with an ethernet cord.

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