Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson's campaign is objecting to a state report about a nonprofit organization owned by his wife.
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's campaign said Monday that the results of a state investigation that found operational and management problems in the way a nonprofit organization owned by his wife ran a child care meal program are “fundamentally politically motivated.”
A compliance investigation of Balanced Nutrition by the state's federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program, announced last week, found numerous issues that regulators said must be corrected by early August or Balanced Nutrition owner Yolanda Hill, who is married to Robinson, and the nonprofit could be removed from the program going forward. Hill previously announced she would close the nonprofit and stop participating in the program after April 30.
As a result of the investigation, state officials ordered Balanced Nutrition to pay back more than $132,000 to the state for allegedly improper expenses reimbursed to foster homes and families or incurred by the nonprofit in its operations.
Balanced Nutrition helped child care centers and families participate in free and reduced meal programs, billed enrollees’ meals so providers could receive reimbursement and ensured compliance with program requirements.
Robinson is the Republican candidate for governor, challenging Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat who is barred from running again in November due to term limits.
Mike Lonergan, a spokesman for Robinson's campaign, said in a prepared statement that Balanced Nutrition “strongly disagrees with the findings and intends to challenge them on appeal.” He said that since Robinson announced her candidacy for governor in April 2023, “Democrat-run state agencies have begun moving the goalposts.” Lonergan did not provide details.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program is administered through the state Department of Health and Human Services.
In response to the campaign's statement, the Ministry of Health said in an email late Monday that program operators like Balanced Nutrition are obligated to take part in compliance reviews that take place every two to three years.
The program could have issued a “significant deficiency” notice after finding problems in its 2022-23 review, but instead ordered a repeat review the following year, and further issues in last week's report led to such a notice, according to the statement.
The state's compliance investigation covered parts of 2023 and 2024. The investigation found new and recurring issues, including incomplete documentation and not filing valid claims on behalf of child care operators or accurately reporting expenses. One of the findings noted that Balanced Nutrition submitted claims for child care reimbursement during an eight-month period when the child care operators reported not submitting claims to the nonprofit.
Lonergan filed an independent auditor's report on Balanced Nutrition's finances for 2021, which he said had no significant findings, and the nonprofit “has complied in all material respects with the types of compliance requirements referenced, which could have a direct and significant impact on key programs in each state,” Florida-based BAS Partners wrote.
According to the audit report, Balanced Nutrition incurred expenses of about $1.38 million in 2021. More than $1.2 million was spent on programs and services and another $140,143 on salaries and benefits.
Robinson, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2021, previously worked with his wife at Balanced Nutrition. He retired from the company several years before running for office, and said the business brought stability to his family, according to his memoir.
