ORLANDO, Fla. – A new lawsuit was filed Tuesday against former Orlando city commissioner Regina Hill on behalf of the 96-year-old woman she’s accused of exploiting.
The lawsuit seeks partition by sale of a home on Domino Drive with both women listed as tenants — which Hill allegedly purchased in August 2022 using the elderly woman’s name, money and credit — and damages for unjust enrichment on Hill’s part, accused of helping herself to improper benefits from the woman.
Hill, 59, was arrested in March, accused of exploiting the elderly woman and spending more than $100,000 of her money, as well as using the woman’s money to purchase cosmetic surgery, car insurance and trips.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Hill a week after her arrest and her criminal trial is scheduled to begin in September, where she faces charges including mortgage fraud, fraudulent use of personal identification and exploitation of an elderly person. Hill pleaded not guilty to the charges in April.
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The lawsuit further claims Hill borrowed more than $428,000 against the Domino Drive property the day after she bought it, thus encumbering the property with a mortgage which the elderly woman’s attorney hopes to satisfy via getting the home sold. News 6 confirmed in July that the $428,000 mortgage was the subject of a federal investigation into Hill which began last year, as she’s accused of fraudulently obtaining power of attorney for the elderly woman to secure it.
A judge only recently permitted Hill to return to the elderly woman’s homes on Lewis Court and Domino Drive to retrieve her belongings. A News 6 photographer was with Hill on Friday when she found the Lewis Court home in disarray.
“I just walked in after five months of not having the ability to come in,” Hill said. “My televisions have been taken from all throughout the house. Everything’s been ransacked.”
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The lawsuit filed Tuesday otherwise seeks that the court appoint a special magistrate to conduct a private sale of the Domino Drive home to a disinterested third party in an arms-length transaction, disbursing the net proceeds to the 96-year-old after equitable accounting.
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