Commissioner Facing Charges of Stealing From 96-Year-Old
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has taken an executive action by suspending Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill. What did she do to deserve this strict punishment?

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has taken a huge step by issuing an executive order to suspend Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hall. He made this decision shortly after Hill got indicted for allegedly misappropriating a huge amount of money from an elderly woman.
His office said, “Today, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-63, suspending the City Commissioner for the City of Orlando, Regina Hill.”

The former commissioner is facing multiple charges for her alleged actions. According to court documents, she is facing seven serious felony charges.
They include counts of exploitation of the elderly, two counts of fraudulent use of personal identification, one count of mortgage fraud, and one count of scheming to defraud over $50,000 from the 96-year-old woman.

Hill may have gotten away with this fraudulent activity if not for the actions of a whistleblower. Her former aide, Jacqueline Cockerham, alerted the FDLE to the possible exploitation scheme last year after Hill fired her.
Cockerham also provided a very detailed account of her experience working with the commissioner, noting that she was a tormenting boss.

It came as no surprise when DeSantis announced his suspension of the commissioner. This is because the governor had already mentioned several times that he would suspend any municipal elected official who was indicted by a grand jury.
He said, “If a municipal elected official is indicted by a grand jury, then I would suspend. That’s typical.”

Per Florida’s constitution, DeSantis’ is well within his rights. This allows him to suspend any elected municipal officer who has been indicted for a crime. It states that “By order of the governor any elected municipal officer indicted for crime may be suspended from office until acquitted.”
Therefore, this allows the government to temporarily remove public officials facing serious charges until they resolve their legal battles.

The allegations against Regina Hill are very serious. They suggest that she calculated a scheme to financially exploit a 96-year-old woman. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), she took power of attorney over the woman and used her position to take advantage of her.
Furthermore, she misappropriated her funds and used them for her own personal benefit.

Per the affidavit filed by an FDLE special agent, there are specific examples of Hill’s alleged misuse of funds. They include purchasing expensive perfumes and clothing. She also has multiple intravenous infusions of vitamins, a costly facelift, and dental surgery. What’s more, she allegedly used the woman’s money to pay for a New Year’s Eve hotel stay in Miami and car insurance payments for her vehicles.

According to the allegations against Hill, she met the elderly woman in March 2021. Within a month, she took power of attorney and allegedly used her power to exploit her financially over the course of three years.
Hill allegedly assumed control and ran through the woman’s funds with a lot of speed, enjoying her savings and using them for personal expenses.

Of all the allegations against Hill, the most shocking one might be that she obtained the power of attorney over the woman’s funds to buy a home worth over $400,000. She allegedly has her as the co-signor of the property but the 96-year-old had no knowledge or consent of this.
According to the FDLE, this shows a significant breach of trust and substantial financial exploitation.

It comes as no surprise that Regina Hill is in some legal trouble. In fact, she has a history of arrests and charges dating from over 30 years. She has a record of charges, including DUIs, drugs, fraud, and passing bad checks. Just two years ago, authorities arrested her in Birmingham, Alabama, for public intoxication.

Hill’s actions severely impacted the elderly woman’s living conditions. While she was enjoying her new home worth thousands of dollars, the woman’s home needed a lot of repairs.
Instead of helping her, she chose to prioritize her own expenses and luxuries with her money. She totally neglected the wellbeing of the woman that she was supposed to assist.

According to reports, the woman had over $164,000 in her bank account before Hill intervened. However, since she managed her finances, the money dwindled considerably and quite fast. There is a lot less in her account now, and her debts have piled up. This also indicates Hill’s terrible management and exploitation of the woman’s savings.