A North Carolina nonprofit – known as Balanced Nutrition – and run by former Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s wife Yolanda Hill, ceased operations last year as controversy began to develop around operations and expenditures. Hill claimed at the time she was closing the organization’s doors because her time was needed to help with her husband’s (soon to be botched) campaign for the governor’s office.
In the weeks and months that followed state officials found conclusive evidence of financial mismanagement and ordered Hill to repay more than $100,000 to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Now comes news that Hill has not repaid the money due April 23, and no attempt to file an appeal or request for an extension has been made.
According to a spokesperson for NCDHHS, a judge had ordered Hill on March 24 to pay back $101,142.05 after the state found operating cost discrepancies with her now-closed nonprofit, Balanced Nutrition, Inc (BNI). The organization was officially terminated by NCDHHS on April 24.
The issues surrounding Hill’s former non-profit came to light after an audit performed by NCDHHS last year, springing up during the time that Mark Robinson was running for North Carolina governor. The health organization had started their investigation in March 2024, a move then-Lt. Gov. Robinson’s campaign had dismissed as politically motivated. At the time he also stated he vehemently disagreed with NCDHHS.
The audit itself had found a difference between what the nonprofit reported in operating costs and what it actually used. In one instance of the case, the NCDHHS discovered the non-profit reporting nearly $20,000 in administration costs for one month. However, the state could only verify that Balanced Nutrition spent a little more than $1,000. The nonprofit submitted its costs to the state for reimbursements, which led to the finding of BNI getting more money back than it should have, totaling more than $100,000.
Hill, along with other people involved with BNI, including Renee Matthews-Jones and Hill’s daughter Kimberly Cephas, are now disqualified from working with NCDHHS’s Child and Adult Care Food Program. Hill, Matthews-Jones and Cephas are noted as being “responsible for the serious deficiency” for which the NCDHHS cited BNI during its closure.
In a follow-up notice sent to Balanced Nutrition Inc. on July 24, the NCDHHS wrote that it identified “Yolanda Hill, Kimberly Cephas, and Renee Matthews-Jones as responsible for the serious deficiencies as a result of their responsibility for the overall management of Balanced Nutrition, Inc. operations.”
As of now, there has been no additional word as to any further legal actions that may be taken against Hill, or the former Lieutenant Governor, who reportedly “worked” for Balanced Nutrition, Inc, prior to his election to office.
The former Lt. Governor and his wife Yolanda Hill were reportedly estranged prior to and during the early days of his time in office as Lieutenant Governor, although they were reported to have reunited later and during his campaign for governor, which he lost to Democratic candidate Josh Stein.
During Robinson’s stint as Lt. Governor, he was notorious for his numerous anti-LGBTQ+ statements, couching them in the ideology of religious freedom. That extremism lead to his downfall, along with reports from CNN that he frequently attended adult book stores, enjoyed transgender porn, considered himself a “Black Nazi” and applauded a potential return to slavery. “Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring [slavery] back. I would certainly buy a few,” he is said to have posted on the internet, according to a story carried by The Guardian.
In addition to referring to the LGBTQ+ community as “filth,” he also championed killing politicians he disagreed with, “Get mad at me if you want to,” Robinson said. “Some people need killing. It’s time to say it!”
Since January 31 when Robinson announced he was withdrawing a lawsuit against CNN and would no longer pursue a career in politics, there has been no further media coverage of Hill or Robinson, until now.
Additional internet research reveals that Hill and Robinson own and are likely residing at an address in Colfax, North Carolina, where Hill is also shown as the registered agent for the businesses JK Slime and Accounting Allies. Hill had also reportedly held a variety of jobs since Robinson’s campaign loss, but details after January 17 are scant, other than the filing for Accounting Allies, which is dated April 16, 2025.
Additional research conducted and material added by Qnotes staff.