RALEIGH.NC — North Carolina regulators are now saying that a nonprofit run by the wife of North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson must pay back more than $132,000 for what they say were unauthorized expenses incurred while operating a federally funded children’s meal program.
The state Department of Health and Human Services revealed a larger amount in a letter to Yolanda Hill on Friday, after a compliance audit of Balanced Nutrition Inc.for which Hill is listed as owner and chief financial officer. Robinson, who is also the Republican nominee for governor this fall, worked in the nonprofit sector for years before running for elected office, according to his memoirs.
Hill had previously announced that she would close the nonprofit and withdraw from the Child and Adult Care Food Program on April 30. But state officials had announced in March that Balance Nutrition’s annual review would begin on April 15.
The review’s findings, released Wednesday, cited new and repeated problems, including lax paperwork and failures to file valid claims on behalf of child care providers or to accurately report expenses. The program told Hill and other leaders to take swift corrective action on the “serious deficiencies” or regulators would propose disqualifying them from future participation in the program.
The Department of Health reported Thursday that the Greensboro nonprofit also owed the state $24,400 in unverified costs reimbursed to several child care agencies or homes that regulators were investigating as part of the probe.
But Friday’s letter counted another $107,719 in ineligible claims or expenses that the state said were generated while Balanced Nutrition was performing administrative and operational activities as a program sponsor during the first three months of the year. Forms signed by regulators attributed more than $80,000 of those disallowed costs to “administrative labor” or “operational labor.” The records did not include details about the labor costs.
This week’s compliance review found that Balanced Nutrition should have disclosed that Hill’s daughter worked for the nonprofit and should have gotten permission from the program to do so.
The amounts owed and the proposed disqualification from the program are subject to appeal. An attorney representing Balanced Nutrition and Hill did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.
The attorney, Tyler Brooks, has previously questioned the timing of the review, alleging that Balanced Nutrition was targeted because Hill is Robinson’s wife and that “political bias” tainted the compliance review process. Program leaders, meanwhile, have described in written correspondence that they have had difficulty obtaining documents and meeting with Balanced Nutrition leaders.
The health department is run by the administration of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who was term-limited for re-election. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is running against Robinson for governor.
Balanced Nutrition assisted child care centers and homes in qualifying for participation in the free and reduced-price meal program, filed claims for centers to receive reimbursement for meals for enrollees, and ensured that centers remained in compliance with program requirements. The nonprofit received a portion of a center’s reimbursement for its services.
Balanced Nutrition, funded by taxpayers, has received about $7 million in government aid and paid at least $830,000 in salaries to Hill, Robinson and other members of their families since 2017, tax returns and state records show.
Robinson describes in his memoir how the operation brought financial stability to his family, allowing him to quit his job as a furniture maker in 2018 and pursue a career in politics.
