Nonprofit run by Lt. Gov. Robinson’s wife must repay $132,000, state investigation concludes
A day after telling the Lt. Governor’s wife that her nonprofit organization must repay the government nearly $25,000, a state agency has added over $100,000 to what it says she owes. Mark Robinson’s nonprofit must repay the government almost $25,000; a state agency added more than $100,000 to her debt.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Yolanda Hills, the second lady of North Carolina owes over $132,000 through the nonprofit organization she ran until it was shut down in early this year. In a letter obtained by WRAL News on Friday, the agency detailed both the new total and new allegations against Hill’s group.
Hill closed her nonprofit Balanced Nutrition, which was funded by the government, earlier this year as a result of an investigation conducted by the state into its finances and other allegations. The organization has 15 days in which to pay back the money, or appeal the ruling.
Balanced Nutrition assisted child care centers to receive federal funding to support nutrition programs. It was also allowed to retain some of that funding to cover salaries and other expenses. DHHS claims that the group made excessive funding requests, and must now pay them back. Allegations include submitting multiple receipts or inflating expenses that could be reimbursed.
In the letter DHHS sent Hill, it also states that “DHHS has made numerous attempts to schedule a in-person departure conference by email, phone, and written communications, without response.”
Hill and her attorney did not respond immediately to requests for comment about other developments in the case on Wednesday or Thursday. They also didn’t reply to a Friday request for comment.
Robinson’s office declined to make any comments in the past. Robinson is the Republican Party’s nominee for Governor this year. In the race to replace Governor Roy Cooper, his Democratic opponent is Attorney general Josh Stein. Roy Cooper.
Her work as the manager of the nonprofit has been under increased scrutiny since Robinson’s campaign for governor. In the GOP primary, some of Robinson’s Republican opponents questioned Balanced Nutrition’s work. Hill also criticized state investigation into her company as politically motivated because her husband is prominent.
Hill managed Balanced Nutrition – a program that helped child care centers obtain federal funding for food – until it was shut down in this year. Some of the money was allowed to be used for group operations. Officials from the state now claim that some of the funds received by the group should have never been given to them in the first instance. The federal government has charged them with collecting money.
According to DHHS records in some cases, Balanced Nutrition submitted claims multiple times for the same receipt or for more money than was shown on the receipts. Records show that in one instance, Balanced Nutrition billed over $10,000 for a child-care center which had not submitted any claims. DHHS claims that there is no record of the money being paid to this center.
Hill did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Her attorney and the lieutenant-governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman from Robinson’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, Josh Stein, refused to comment.
The DHHS’s latest allegations come a day following a report that alleged numerous violations by Balanced Nutrition. The report published on Wednesday highlighted possible billing errors and possible violations of record-keeping, accounting and monitoring. Hill was also accused of hiring a member of her family improperly.
Hill and her attorney did not respond to a Wednesday request for comments on the report. Robinson’s chief staff at the lieutenant-governor’s office, Brian LiVecchi, declined to comment Wednesday. He said the DHHS Report “is not related to any official matters of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.”
Hill claimed that when the investigation first began, a few months ago now, DHHS was targeting her in order to harm her husband’s career.
In an interview with WRAL, she said: “We felt that we were being targetted from the beginning.”