The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) held a press conference in late March alleging Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill stole more than $100,000 from Ms. Annie Curtis, a vulnerable 96-year-old woman, in a mortgage fraud scheme. Hill was arrested, indicted and suspended from office as a result of FDLE’s allegations.
Testimony of Home Health Care Aide Rosemary Toby
Rosemary Toby, the former home health care aide for Ms. Annie Curtis, testified in Hill’s civil trial. Toby said she was paid by Hill to take care of Curtis. Toby said her responsibilities were “cleaning, cooking, making sure the house is clean… sit with her.” Toby also testified Curtis was aware of surroundings and knew what was going on around her. According to Toby, Curtis never complained about Hill taking money from her. Toby testified that Curtis said, “Do you know Regina Hill the commissioner, she’s the one that takes care of me.”
In January of 2024, Curtis was hospitalized. Toby said when Curtis returned home, she was different and more lethargic.
In Toby’s testimony, she said an FDLE agent visited Curtis three times. FDLE Agent Stephen Brenton testified that he visited Curtis twice but had driven by her house many times. Toby said she was at Curtis’ home when an agent visited Curtis. The agent did not speak to her (Toby) the first time he visited, Toby said. Toby said she didn’t know why the agent was at Curtis’ home. Toby added, the agent did not present a warrant.
FDLE made another visit to Curtis’ home, but this time the agent did speak to Toby. Toby was made aware that she would have to stop working for Curtis. “It (Toby’s job) stopped the day they came to arrest me and tell me that I am not supposed to be on the property.” Toby said she wanted to go back to work for Curtis because they had a special bond. When asked if it would be in her best interest for Hill to not have a permanent injunction against Hill, Toby said, “Yes, because I would like to go back to work for Ms. Curtis.”
New Power of Attorney Adriane Alexander’s Testimony
Adriane Alexander assumed the role of Curtis’ power of attorney after FDLE contacted her. Alexander resides in Tampa. Alexander testified she knew Curtis because her mother and Curtis were classmates in college. Although Alexander had not seen or contacted Curtis for years, she assumed the role to become Curtis’ power of attorney. Alexander said, “I wanted to ensure that she was not being taken advantage of. That was my only goal. And, so I agreed to become power of attorney.”
When cross-examined by Hill’s attorney, Nicole Benjamin, Alexander admitted she never asked for Curtis’ assets to be frozen to protect Curtis from any fraudulent activity. Before Hill was Curtis’ power of attorney, Curtis’ living conditions were terrible. Her home was infested with bugs, cat feces and rotten food. Hill had a crew clean and restore the house to a livable condition. Alexander testified she did not know the conditions of Curtis’ home.
Tim Moran, an attorney who practices in the field of guardianship, met with Curtis this year and said he prepared the paperwork for Curtis to sign allowing Alexander to be her power of attorney. Moran said Curtis was competent to sign the documents because he interviewed her and allowed her to read over the documents. However, FDLE agent Brenton said Curtis was not competent to sign the documents to allow Hill to be her power of attorney years prior. Moran also said he did not ask if Curtis had a power of attorney, but asked if she would like to revoke Hill as her power of attorney.
Claims Hill Spent Some of Curtis’ Money on A Face-Lift
In relation to the allegations Hill spent some of Curtis’ money on a face-lift, The Florida Sun requested a copy of the subpoena to get Hill’s medical records approximately two and a half weeks ago from FDLE. The Florida Sun requested a copy of the subpoena anyway, even though it is still not clear if a subpoena allows law enforcement to get a person’s medical records based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA.) In regards to the request, FDLE responded, “Your public records request is in the public records section’s queue to be processed. They process requests in the order of receipt and they have hundreds of requests pending ahead of yours. It may be several weeks or months before they may have an update.”
