Nonprofit run by Lt. Gov.’s wife placed on state list to suspend funding for failing to submit audits

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The nonprofit organization run by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s wife Yolanda Hill was placed on a state list to have its funding suspended in 2021 and caught the attention of the State Auditor’s office, CBS17 has learned.

Hill announced last month she was ending the primary work of Balanced Nutrition as the organization as the state was set to undertake a compliance review.

Publicly, Hill said the decision was driven by how busy life had become as her husband is campaigning for governor. An email CBS17 obtained showed Hill believed the scrutiny Balanced Nutrition was receiving was making them feel like they were “the target of some type of vendetta, be it personal or political.”

Balanced Nutrition serves as a sponsoring organization under the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, which the state Dept. of Health and Human Services administers in North Carolina. According to Balanced Nutrition’s website, the nonprofit helps adult and childcare providers navigate that program to get access to federal subsidies to provide food.

CBS17 obtained an email sent last November by the director of the investigative audit division of the State Auditor’s office to NCDHHS seeking more information about Balanced Nutrition.

Noting that the auditor’s office had “received allegations” about the nonprofit, they requested budget documents going back to 2019. The specific focus of the request was “whether the salaries paid to employees, including the executive director, were in line with those salaries for which they were approved in their budget.”

The Assembly previously reported on the criticisms of Balanced Nutrition, including Hill raising her pay by $28,000 in 2020 after receiving a PPP loan for almost the same amount early in the pandemic. In total across 2020 and 2021, Hill received two PPP loans that added up to $57,000 and were forgiven, even as Balanced Nutrition reported its revenue increasing, the Assembly reported.

The only employees listed on Balanced Nutrition’s tax documents in recent years include Hill and her family members. Hill is listed as the chief financial officer.

The auditor’s office says no findings on Balanced Nutrition have been published and would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Tyler Brooks, an attorney for Balanced Nutrition, said they had not been contacted by the auditor’s office nor had Ms. Hill.

He also responded to questions about why Balanced Nutrition has been on the state’s list to have its funding suspended since 2021.

The Office of State Budget and Management maintains the “Suspension of Funding” list, which shows Balanced Nutrition was added on July 12, 2021. The reason cited was failing to submit reports to NCDHHS.

A spokesperson for NCDHHS confirmed that Balanced Nutrition was added to that list because it did not submit audit reports to the agency in 2019 and 2020.

However, the nonprofit continued to receive funding.

“Although they are on the OSBM suspension of funding list, some federal food grant programs, such as CACFP, that serve children and adults cannot have funding suspended. And while OSBM states suspended recipients should not have their contracts renewed if they remain suspended at the time of renewal, CACFP institutions have Permanent Agreements that do not operate on contract timelines with renewal options,” wrote NCDHHS spokesperson Hannah Jones in an email.

CBS17 asked Balanced Nutrition’s attorney about what steps they took to try to correct the issues that resulted in being placed on the “Suspension of Funding” list. Brooks initially replied, “I believe that is just not true.”

But, after reviewing what OSBM has posted about Balanced Nutrition, he said, “We don’t have an explanation other than that it appears to be an error on the part of the state. We don’t know why Balanced Nutrition would be on this list. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful, but it is a mystery to us.”

A spokesperson for OSBM said it has not received any requests since 2021 to remove Balanced Nutrition from the Suspension of Funding List.

CBS17 obtained an independent auditor’s report that looked at Balanced Nutrition’s financial statements and internal controls for 2021.

The auditors said there were “no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.”

The report also “did not identify any deficiencies in internal control that we consider to be material weaknesses.”

“In our opinion, Balanced Nutrition Inc. complied, in all material respects, with the types of compliance requirements referred to above that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major state programs for the year ended December 31, 2021,” the report reads.

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