Bay Area HGTV Star Sentenced In Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Schemes

LOS GATOS, CA — A former HGTV host was handed a four-year prison sentence and ordered to pay nearly $10 million in restitution Tuesday following his conviction for multiple fraud schemes and real estate scams, according to prosecutors in Santa Clara County.

Charles “Todd” Hill, 58, of Los Gatos was the star of HGTV’s “Flip It to Win It” and was indicted in 2019 after the district attorney’s office investigated a series of frauds reported during and before the show’s run.

“The show’s concept was that he bought dilapidated homes, fixed them up, and then sold them for a profit,” the DA’s office said Tuesday. “Instead, Hill spent millions on overbudget remodels, laundered profits, and pocketed millions in fraudulently obtained money.”

The Santa Clara County case focused on incidents of real estate and financial fraud against 11 victims, and prosecutors said Hill laundered illicit earnings through a rented San Francisco apartment, hotels, vacations and luxury cars.

In one case, the court found Hill diverted construction funds for personal use. In another, prosecutors said he created a Ponzi scheme to use investors’ money on a lavish lifestyle instead of buying homes, creating fake balance sheets to cover his tracks. One investor said they gave Hill $250,000 for remodeling work and later the house a “burnt down shell with no work done.”

Hill was convicted in September by plea of grand theft against each victim and admitted to white-collar enhancements. He was sentenced Thursday to four years in jail and 10 years on probation, with more than $9.4 million in restitution owed to the victims.

“Some see the huge amount of money in Silicon Valley real estate as a business opportunity,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Others, unfortunately, see it as a criminal opportunity — and we will hold those people strictly accountable.”