LOS GATOS – The former star of HGTV’s “Flip It to Win It” was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison and ordered to pay $9.4 million for real estate and financial fraud against 11 victims, officials said. prosecutors.
The sentence follows the conviction last fall of Los Gatos resident Charles “Todd” Hill, 58, for grand larceny, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The television show centered on Hill, also known as “Mr. Flip It”, and his efforts to buy dilapidated homes, fix them up and then resell them for a profit. Prosecutors said Hill instead spent millions on over-budget renovations, laundered profits and pocketed millions in fraudulently obtained money.
“Some see the enormous amount of money in Silicon Valley real estate as a business opportunity,” prosecutor Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Others, unfortunately, see it as a criminal opportunity – and we will hold these people strictly accountable.” »
In one case, Hill embezzled construction money for his personal use, prosecutors said.
Hill also created a Ponzi scheme in which he used funds provided by an investor to purchase homes in order to live lavishly, according to the prosecutor’s office. He concealed the theft by creating false balance sheets and taking out loans using fraudulent information.
The Ponzi scheme was one of a number of scams Hill ran before the show.
Prosecutors said another investor visited a home he put up $250,000 to renovate and discovered it was a burned-out shell with no work done.
Victims who spoke at Tuesday’s sentencing said they still suffer financial and professional damages from the fraud, according to the prosecutor’s office.
In addition to prison time and restitution, Hill was ordered to serve 10 years of probation.
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