ORLANDO, Fla. — The 96-year-old woman at the center of Regina Hill’s elder exploitation criminal case told investigators she was aware Hill served as her power of attorney and even approved the purchases Hill was making, investigators at the Department of Children and Families reported to others looking into Hill’s actions.
They found that before the winter of 2023, one of two times the agency cleared Hill of taking advantage of her constituent. The second happened from March to May of 2023, as Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents ramped up their own investigation into Hill’s actions.
The documents and emails from DCF to FDLE were part of a trove of exhibits submitted to bolster Hill’s efforts to regain control of the house she and the 96-year-old jointly owned that Hill’s attorney subsequently asked the judge to seal. No order had been given as of Tuesday, when WFTV reviewed the filings.
“The investigator does not believe, at the time of the interview, that (redacted) was coerced or exploited by Ms. Hill due to her statements and mental capacity,” investigators wrote, using the woman’s name that WFTV has chosen to not report since the onset of the case.
A second statement was blunter.
“(Redacted) can make her own decisions,” the investigator said.
They offered to reopen the case if FDLE reported any additional concerns to them, which filings hint happened as the second investigation was launched shortly after – with the same outcome.
“There is no credible evidence to support allegations,” the May 2023 DCF report said, describing the woman as “alert but confused,” and noting she was under 24-hour care and not in imminent danger.
FDLE agents were later convinced that the woman wasn’t fully aware of what Hill was doing with the woman’s money. In addition to paying for food and care, they said Hill spent $100,000 on items like a face-lift, IV treatments, hotel stays and expensive perfume.
They accused Hill of faking the power of attorney document and said she had set herself up as a beneficiary in the event of the woman’s death.
During a later interview with the woman, she told investigators she wanted her possessions and money to go to her church, not Hill, and didn’t seem to realize the two owned a house together.
Hill has consistently maintained her innocence.
A separate filing last month asked the judge in her case to again let her take control of the house that she continued to pay the bills for. It also claimed the woman’s new power of attorney was never in her life before FDLE closed in on Hill and the woman’s wishes are not being followed, which included the sale of the woman’s home.
WFTV reached out to the woman’s attorneys, who declined to comment for this report.
Hill is running for reelection against the woman who replaced her, Shan Rose. It’s not clear if her criminal trial will happen before or after early November. She faces decades in prison if she’s convicted, but she continues to remain visible in her district and enjoys stronger-than-usual levels of support for a politician facing serious criminal charges.
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