HGTV ‘Flip It to Win It’ Star Charles ‘Todd’ Hill Sentenced to 4 Years in Jail
Former HGTV star Charles “Todd” Hill has been sentenced to four years in the Santa Clara County jail for committing real estate and financial fraud against multiple victims.
Hill, 58, who appeared on the 2014 reality competition show Flip It to Win It, was also ordered to pay back nearly $10 million to the 11 victims of his fraudulent schemes.
According to a press release from the Santa Clara County’s Office of the District Attorney, instead of buying dilapidated homes, fixing them up, and selling them for a profit, the HGTV alum spent millions on “over budget remodels, laundered profits, and pocketed millions in fraudulently obtained money.”
Evidence revealed that Hill spent the laundered money on a rented apartment in San Francisco, as well as luxury items such as hotels, vacations, and cars. He was also found to have diverted construction money for his personal use.
“Some see the huge amount of money in Silicon Valley real estate as a business opportunity,” District Attorney Jess Rosen said in a statement. “Others, unfortunately, see it as a criminal opportunity – and we will hold those people strictly accountable.”
According to the press release, Hill was involved in a Ponzi scheme even before starring in his show: he would create false balance sheets and use fraudulent information to obtain loans and live lavishly.
The release cites a case in which an investor spent $250,000 for a home to be remodeled and instead found a “burnt down shell with no work done on it.”
Hill’s reality show Flip It to Win It followed five “expert flippers” who would bid against each other for abandoned houses. The series which ran for 13 episodes was described by HGTV as 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.”
Hill was known on the show as “Mr. Flip-It.”
The HGTV alum was indicted in November 2019. Then in September 2023, he was convicted of grand theft and was ordered to pay by the $9.4 million owed as well as serve 10 years on probation.
Victims who spoke at the hearing on April 16 said they were still suffering financial and professional damages from the fraud committed by Hill.
