Disgraced Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill brazenly asked a judge to let her back into the house she is accused of purchasing with money stolen from an elderly victim.
Hill, 58, appeared in court on Thursday for the second time in a week as she faces charges for allegedly convincing a 96-year-old woman to give her power of attorney and using that authority to spend more than $100,000 from the victim’s accounts.
Among the many items prosecutors say she spent the money on is a house in the Lake Mann Estates area of Orlando.
Hill has been banned from returning to the house under a court order following her March arrest.
But on Thursday, her lawyer argued that she needs to return to the home she secured a mortgage for 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 acquire a home she now wants to return to
‘There’s ongoing construction there and Ms. Hill would like to be able to continue the construction – she’s paying for all of it,’ attorney John Notari said, according to WESH.
Hill’s son and girlfriend were believed to be living in the home the former city employee obtained with the power of attorney at the time of her arrest in March, while she lived in a separate home that once belonged to the elderly woman’s parents – which she allegedly spent a large portion of the savings to renovate.
The judge said he would rule on the matter at an unspecified later date.
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 claim Hill met the elderly woman in March 2021 in her role as commissioner, and was supposed to help her get better living conditions – but within a month, she had become her power of attorney.
Disgraced Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill appeared in court on Thursday, asking if she could return to the house at the center of an investigation
She then allegedly used the money, not just on the house, but on a facelift, perfume, clothing, and dental surgery.
Hill also used the woman’s savings for a New Year’s Eve vacation to Miami, and on a large number of intravenous vitamins from a company named Vitalounge, according to court documents.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and insists she will be acquitted.
‘I’m confident,’ she said in a brief statement following her court hearing on Tuesday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
‘It’s a rough journey, but I’ve got to take it.’
But Hill had previous brushes with the law, which surfaced when she first ran for office in 2014.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, news emerged during her run that she had a rap sheet with 21 pervious arrests dating back to 1983. The arrests included drug offenses, DUIs, fraud and passing bad checks.
She was also arrested in 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, for public intoxication, the outlet reported.
Hill’s son Rakeem was also arrested in 2015 when a cache of guns and drugs were found inside a home she owned at the time, reports WFTV9.
Hill was arrested in March following a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation
A state investigation into her dealings with the elderly woman finally began when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received a tip from one of her staffers who had been fired.
During the investigation, FDLE Special Agent Steve Brenton reportedly asked the woman about signing over her power of attorney, and said ‘she recalled signing some sort of document but did not understand it and would have never agreed to allow Hill to be a power of attorney.’
Brenton continued that when he looked into Hill’s spending, ‘these purchases and/ or bank withdrawals exceeded $100,000, and solely benefitted Hill.’
He said that while her home had undergone renovations, the home the elderly woman had been living in was in need of repairs, but Hill had allegedly not spent any money to fix.
The agent’s affidavit also noted that before Hill met the elderly woman, she had over $164,000 in her bank account and around a $650 balance.
Following her arrest, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order suspending Hill from her post as commissioner
As of October, she was left with $60,000 in her bank account, and $10,000 on her credit card.
Following her arrest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order suspending Hill from her post as commissioner for District 5 in Orlando.
That order set off a hotly contested race to serve as the interim commissioner, which Shan Rose ultimately won last month.
Still, Hill has remained hopeful that she will one day return to office – saying she will do so if either the charges against her are dropped or she wins at trial, which is now scheduled for September 17
Her attorneys now hope that happens sometime this year.
‘I want the truth to be known by the community,’ she said on Tuesday, the Sentinel reports.