Latest news with #CACFP
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Defunct nonprofit run by Mark Robinson's wife misses deadline to pay more than $100,000 owed to NCDHHS
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — A shuttered North Carolina nonprofit run by the former lieutenant governor's wife has missed the deadline to pay money owed to the state or submit an appeal. According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, a final decision was issued in the case of Balanced Nutrition Inc.'s disallowances on March 24. are deductions or monetary benefits that a person or organization files for but is not entitled to. When a disallowance is found during an audit, the individual or organization must give back the amount of money that was granted by the disallowed deduction or benefit. Balanced Nutrition Inc.'s disallowances are separate from the , which deal more with operational issues rather than financial issues. The document, which is 25 pages long, outlines the steps that the NCDHHS took to determine how much money Balanced Nutrition Inc. owes after it improperly assessed and represented its services of connecting child care centers with federally funded meal programs. Their initial disallowance was calculated at $132,118.86, but, upon appeal and review, that amount was adjusted to $101,142.05, and the Office of Administrative Hearings' final decision affirmed that amount. After the final decision, a demand letter was sent to Balanced Nutrition Inc. on March 26, giving them 30 days to pay the money. As of April 28, no money has been paid, NCDHHS confirmed on Monday morning. Additionally, the window for BNI to appeal the final decision closed on April 23, and no appeal was received. Mark Robinson drops CNN lawsuit, says he will not seek elected office in future Balanced Nutrition Inc., which was closed by Yolanda Hill in 2024 during her husband's failed gubernatorial campaign, was officially terminated by NCDHHS on April 24. 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 the final decision, the Office of Administrative Hearings notes Hill's concern that the scrutiny on BNI was politically motivated, which it disputes. The final decision also noted that a review consultant texted others working on the compliance review, claiming that Hill 'had lied about being married to Lt. Governor Mark Robinson and lied about her son being on the budget.' The consultant apologized for that text, and, while OAH describes the comments as 'grossly inappropriate,' the final decision states that it did not seem to have any bearing on the findings of the nonprofit's review. Hill's nonprofit, as 'a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping child care providers make the most out of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The food program is our only business. Our staff has over twenty-plus years of experience working with CACFP, making us well-qualified to serve the providers and the children in their care.' The nonprofit was scheduled to face a compliance review on April 15, 2024, but, on the morning the review was supposed to take place, NCDHHS received word from Balanced Nutrition Inc.'s attorney stating 'Balanced Nutrition and Mrs. Hill respectfully decline to meet with NCDHHS officials without the presence of counsel. Furthermore, we are not available this week.' Documents provided by the state characterize Hill and others as uncooperative with this review. The scheduled compliance review, conducted by NCDHHS following the set USDA federal policy, is a standard review for all organizations participating in the North Carolina Child and Adult Care Food Program. Per federal regulations, reviews are conducted every two to three years at a minimum, depending on the size of an institution and previous findings. The standard 2022-2023 review of Balanced Nutrition, Inc. resulted in findings, according to NCDHHS, leading the agency to request that Balanced Nutrition, Inc. complete a corrective action plan to address those findings. 'Balanced Nutrition, Inc. completed the corrective action plan and NCDHHS put the organization back on the review schedule for the next Federal fiscal year to ensure continued compliance with state and federal rules,' NCDHHS said. Balanced Nutrition Inc. filed to terminate its agreement with the NCDHHS on April 30, 2024. Nevertheless, the nonprofit was still beholden to the scheduled compliance review despite the agreement termination, according to the NCDHHS. The nonprofit had been told on March 1, March 18 and April 1, 2024, about the upcoming compliance review and what documents nonprofit leaders would need. In documents obtained by CBS17, Hill said that the compliance review felt like an attack, writing, 'As an organization, there are numerous things that have happened and been documented that makes us feel as if we are the target of some type of vendetta, be it personal or political.' Robinson's campaign took this perspective as well, characterizing the investigation and subsequent findings as a political attack directly tied to Robinson's gubernatorial aspirations. The campaign accused because then-gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein's wife, Anna, worked as a legal specialist for the Chronic Disease and Injury Section of the NCDHHS's Division of Public Health. The notice of serious deficiencies was 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.' 'The state agency was permitted to begin the review on Balanced Nutrition, Inc., on April 22, 2024, and was able to make copies of some requested documents. However, Balanced Nutrition, Inc. did not provide all requested documents,' according to NCDHHS. NCDHHS says it tried to contact Balanced Nutrition, Inc.'s employees, including Hill, to schedule an exit interview 'by email, telephone, and written communication, with no response.' 'A letter dated June 14, 2024, was sent to Balanced Nutrition, Inc., requesting three dates and times that an institution representative would be available to participate in an exit conference. Balanced Nutrition, Inc. was unresponsive,' NCDHHS documents said. Noncompliance issues include the 'USDA nondiscrimination statement was not listed on the menus for all centers. Menus that were posted and obtained from Apple Tree Wee School, Inc. did not have this statement included,' 'no documentation on file to verify that sponsoring organization staff received annual Civil Rights Training within the last twelve months,' and 'monitoring records were missing; Income Eligibility Applications were missing; enrollment documents were missing.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Keith Ellison's meeting with those involved in Feeding Our Future before FBI raids: What really happened
The Brief The nearly hour-long recording is an unused defense exhibit from Aimee Bock's federal trial. A meeting between Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and several future Feeding Our Future defendants took place in December 2021. They ask for his help dealing with alleged racist actions by state agencies. House Republicans accuse Ellison of soliciting campaign donations. The recording does not support that. Rather, he is repeatedly offered contributions and later receives them, but he never asks and deflects offers by saying this is not about his campaign. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Item number 710 on Aimee Bock's defense exhibit list from her recent federal trial is an audio recording of a meeting with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Bock's defense attorney, Kenneth Udiobok, didn't use it during the trial because no one from Ellison's office testified for the government, therefore it was not relevant. He also didn't think it would do anything to prove Bock's innocence. But he does think it's important for what he believes it depicts. "The chief law enforcement officer of the state of Minnesota," said Udoibok, "weeks before the investigation went overt, his expression showed that he did not believe Feeding our Future or Aimee Bock was involved in any fraudulent activity." The recording doesn't necessarily suggest Ellison didn't believe fraud was occurring. ather, it sounded like he was unaware of any investigation into fraud. What we know Udoibok said he got the recording from Aimee Bock, but is not certain who recorded it. He provided a copy to FOX 9. The recording is a meeting he says took place in December 2021, just one month before the FBI raided Feeding Our Future and related properties and made their investigation public. The group included several of those who were later found guilty or pled guilty to fraud-related charges. They identified themselves as the Minnesota Minority Business Association. They begin by complaining that East African businesses are facing racism by state agencies, telling Ellison they "create unnecessary roadblocks and hurdles and at times conduct business in a very racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic manner." Ellison sympathizes and offers to make some calls, saying that "just getting the question, just getting the inquiry from the AG is sometimes enough to make people knock it off." But for the first 14 minutes of the meeting, the federal meal program is not mentioned. What happens next When the group finally gets around to the federal meal program and Feeding Our Future, Ellison is unclear what they're talking about. "And for example," one man says, "one of the biggest issues facing in our community is the CACFP and how the Department of Education…" Ellison interrupts: "Wait a minute, what is that?" "Child and Adult Care Food Program," he is told. For more than 20 minutes, they explain the food program, how the USDA funds come through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), down to sponsors and vendors and meal sites. And they complain that MDE continues to drag their feet on approvals and reimbursements, and they want Ellison's help. Ellison expresses surprise, despite this being weeks before the FBI investigation becomes public knowledge, which the AG's office is taking part in. "I'm telling you," Ellison says, "this has not come to my attention until now, really." Repeatedly throughout the meeting, Ellison is told they want to contribute to his campaign, "putting our dollars in the right place and supporting candidates that fight to protect our interests." Ellison never asks for money. Rather, he deflects the offers by saying he's meeting with them as AG, not a candidate. "Of course, I'm here to help," he says. "Let me be clear, I'm not here because I think it's going to help my re-election." But about a week later, Ellison's campaign did receive several contributions from some of those present. Ellison later returned contributions from those who were indicted. What they're saying In the wake of the recording being made public, Minnesota House Republicans issued a statement, saying "It's disturbing to learn that Attorney General Ellison met with and offered verbal support to criminal defendants at the heart of the largest pandemic fraud scam in the country." For clarity, the meeting occurred 10 months before any indictments. When charges did come in September 2022, a news release from Ellison's office said they'd been involved in the investigation for two years. It also said the FBI had repeatedly asked that the AG and MDE not disclose the existence of the investigation to anyone so as not to tip anyone off. In a statement to FOX 9, Ellison's office said that he was unaware who he was meeting with: "AG Ellison was asked to sit down with a friend that day, Imam Mohamed Omar. When the AG arrived, he was surprised to find others present but agreed to meet with them. It is a shame that these fraudsters tried to exploit the Attorney General's good-faith engagement, but they were not successful. Nothing happened as a result of the meeting."
