Is The State of NC paying MKR’s wife for THREE JOBS?

A document we obtained from the state Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), signed and dated by Yolanda Hill (wife of Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson), appears to indicate just that.

We’ve reported extensively on Balanced Nutrition, the Robinsons’ Greensboro-based family business. We’ve examined a significant amount of Balanced Nutrition’s records – obtained from NC DHHS and other independent sources — that indicate all sorts of sketchy accounting and false information submitted to the IRS.

Balanced Nutrition is described as a go-between or middleman in the distribution of federal lunch reimbursement funds to daycare centers across the state.  The funds originate at the US Department of Agriculture and are then transferred to the NC DHHS.  DHHS then disburses the funds to the Robinsons at Balanced NutritionThe Robinsons’ business is funded solely by the taxpayer dollars sent from DHHS in Raleigh.

As Mark Robinson’s political star began to rise, so did Balanced Nutrition’s revenue and salary expenses.

Total revenue for Balanced Nutrition was $111,628 in 2017.    Balanced Nutrition’s total revenue is expected to reach or exceed $2 million in 2023.

Salaries and other expenses for businesses like Balanced Nutrition need to be approved by NC DHHS.  In 2019, Hill was approved for a salary of $65,830.   In 2020, her approved pay grew to $119,995.

In the recently completed fiscal year, DHHS records indicate that Hill was paid $161,485.

The problem?  We found a 2023 form submitted to DHHS – signed and dated by Hill – indicating an approved salary of $150,000 for Hill.  Several documents related to the business ID Hill as the CFO for the firm.

HOW, you may ask, was Hill paid MORE than what the state approved for her position?  Let’s see:



The CFO/ Executive Director position, as you can see, is approved for $150,000.   Where does the extra $11,485 come from?

The chart indicates Hill-Robinson will also work the “Trainers” ($31,0000-$41,500) and “Claim Processors”positions ($5000-$8000).

The chart would suggest Hill-Robinson has established justification for paying herself the extra $11,485 from the money set aside for those two other positions.   Claiming those two other positions for herself also gives her the wiggle-room to bump her salary right up to $200,000 for 2024 and beyond. (*Just in time for Gov. Robinson’s inauguration. *) 

This chart was submitted to the state for approval in March 2023.  It IDs a total of six positions.  NC DHHS records do not indicate any more than TWO employees at any one time EVER at Balanced Nutrition.  So, why seek approval for SIX salaried positions?

I haven’t heard of ANYONE else tapping into three separate salaries for state government positions.  Have you?  

How necessary is the Robinsons’ firm, or others like it?  Why can’t day care lunch reimbursement be disbursed from within NC DHHS itself?   How is this saving money for taxpayers?  Are there others within the state bureaucracy making six figures for simply passing along pass-through social welfare funds?