Disgraced Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill has brazenly asked a judge to allow her back into the home she allegedly bought with money stolen from an elderly victim.
Hill, 58, appeared in court Thursday for the second time in a week, accused of convincing a 96-year-old woman to grant her power of attorney and using the power to spend more than $100,000 from the victim’s bank accounts.
Prosecutors say she spent the money on, among other things, a house in Orlando’s Lake Mann Estates neighborhood.
Hill has been banned from returning home since her arrest in March, a court has ruled.
But on Thursday, her lawyer argued that she should return to the home she mortgaged and renovated.
Hill, 58, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against her
Hill allegedly used money she stole from an elderly woman to buy a house she now plans to return to
“There is construction going on there and Ms. Hill would like to continue with the construction — she is paying for everything,” said attorney John Notari, according to WESH.
Hill’s son and girlfriend were believed to be living in the home the former city employee was given with a power of attorney when she was arrested in March, while the woman herself lived in a separate home that once belonged to the elderly woman’s parents, a home she reportedly used much of her savings to renovate.
The judge said he would rule on the case at a later date, but not yet specified.
Hill’s hearing on Thursday came just days after the judge granted a request from her legal team for more time to prepare her defense.
Prosecutors said Hill met the elderly woman in March 2021 in her role as commissioner and was supposed to help her get better living conditions. Within a month, however, she had become her proxy.
Disgraced Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill appeared in court Thursday asking to be allowed to return to the home at the center of an investigation
She then allegedly spent the money not only on the house, but also on a facelift, perfume, clothes and dental work.
According to court documents, Hill also used the woman’s savings for a New Year’s vacation to Miami and for a large supply of intravenous vitamins from a company called Vitalounge.
She has denied the charges and is demanding that she be acquitted.
“I am confident,” she said in a brief statement after her court hearing on Tuesday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“It is a difficult journey, but I must make it.”
Hill has had previous troubles with the law, which came to light when she first ran for public office in 2014.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, during her campaign it was revealed that she had a criminal record that included 21 prior arrests dating back to 1983. The arrests included drug offenses, drunk driving, fraud and issuing counterfeit checks.
Also in 2022, she was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for public intoxication, the outlet reported.
Hill’s son Rakeem was also arrested in 2015 when a haul of guns and drugs was found in the home she owned at the time, WFTV9 reports.
Hill was arrested in March following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
A state investigation into her dealings with the elderly woman eventually began when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received a tip from one of her employees who had been fired.
During the investigation, FDLE Special Agent Steve Brenton allegedly asked the woman if she wanted to sign over her power of attorney. He said, “She remembered signing some sort of document, but she didn’t understand it and would never have agreed to Hill giving her power of attorney.”
Brenton continued that when he looked into Hill’s spending, “these purchases and/or bank withdrawals exceeded $100,000 and were for the sole benefit of Hill.”
He said that while her home had been renovated, the house the elderly woman lived in was in need of repairs, but Hill allegedly did not spend any money on the repairs.
The agent’s statement also stated that before meeting the elderly woman, Hill had more than $164,000 in her bank account and a balance of approximately $650.
Following her arrest, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order suspending Hill from her post as commissioner
In October, she still had $60,000 in her bank account and $10,000 on her credit card.
After her arrest, Florida’s governor said: Ron DeSantis issued an executive order suspending Hill as commissioner for District 5 in Orlando.
The decision marked the beginning of a fierce battle for the interim commissioner position, which Shan Rose eventually won last month.
Still, Hill remains hopeful that she will return to her post one day. She says she will do so if the charges against her are dropped or if she wins the trial, which is now scheduled for Sept. 17.
Her lawyers now hope that this will happen this year.
“I want the community to know the truth,” she said Tuesday, the Sentinel reported.