Former HGTV star Charles “Todd” Hill has been ordered to spend multiple years behind bars.
Hill was sentenced to four years in jail for “committing real estate and financial fraud against 11 victims,” according to a press release from the County of Santa Clara’s Office of the District Attorney. Additionally, Hill was ordered to pay back nearly $10 million to victims.
Hill, who starred on the series Flip It to Win It, was reportedly convicted of multiple fraud charges last year for schemes that occurred before and after the show aired in 2013. Per the Office of the District Attorney’s press release, Hill “spent the laundered money on a rented apartment in San Francisco, as well as hotels, vacations and luxury cars.”
The former TV personality was later indicted in November 2019 after a DA investigation found him guilty of committing fraud against several people. “On September 27, 2023, he was convicted by plea of grand theft against all victims and admitted the aggravated white-collar enhancements,” the press release states. “He was ordered to pay back restitution in the amount of $9,402,678.43 and serve 10 years on probation.”
In addition to once using “diverted construction money” for personal use, Hill also created a Ponzi scheme by creating “false balance sheets” and taking out loans after receiving money from an investor. In another scheme, an investor toured a home that he gave Hill $250,000 to remodel, only to discover it as a “burnt down shell with no work done on it,” per the press release.
In court, Hill’s victims stated they were suffering “financial and professional damages” as a result of his fraud.
“Some see the huge amount of money in Silicon Valley real estate as a business opportunity,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement, via the press release. “Others, unfortunately, see it as a criminal opportunity – and we will hold those people strictly accountable.”
Us Weekly has reached out to HGTV for comment on Hill’s prison sentencing.
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Hill was one of many real estate professionals who starred on HGTV’s Flip It to Win It. The series, which aired for one season in 2013, saw six teams of real estate experts go head-to-head to transform abandoned houses into desirable properties. Hill, for his part, was teamed up with fellow renovator Michael Kaufman.
“It’s a high-stakes hour in which three auctions are won, three houses are renovated and then all three houses go on the market for top dollar,” show’s description read. The winner of each episode would be the team who earned the highest profit from their renovation.
