Husband of North Texas ‘sweetheart swindler’ gets 85 years for bilking elderly residents
The common-law husband of the “sweetheart swindler” was sentenced on Thursday to 85 years in prison for his role in a scam that bilked elderly residents of about $3 million.
The scam also took elderly residents of their vehicles, and included house and credit card charges.
On Thursday, Judge Robb Catalano sentenced Paul Hill, 43, of North Richland Hills to 85 years for engaging in organized criminal activity, 20 years for theft of property between $30,000-$150,000, 10 years for money laundering between $20,000 to $100,000 and 10 years for bail jumping and failing to appear. The sentences will be served concurrently.
“This should serve as a warning to those who exploit our senior citizens,” Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson said in a Thursday news release. “We are prosecuting these cases and seeking the maximum penalty.”
Elderly victims in her trial testified that Boltos seduced them and stole their savings.
Boltos was found guilty on five counts of theft and one count of exploiting an elderly person.
The jury sentenced Boltos to 85 years on the first theft count, 75 years on the second theft count, 20 years on the third theft count, 68 years on the fourth theft count, 15 years on the fifth theft count and 10 years on the exploiting an elderly person count.
Prosecutors said Boltos teamed up with Hill to scam elderly residents out of their vehicles and money, sometimes taking their life savings. She often introduced Hill as her brother.
After Bolto’s conviction in 2018, Hill, who was indicted on separate charges, fled Tarrant County.
He was arrested in Las Vegas in 2019 under the alias of John Ray. Las Vegas police have said John Ray was arrested on suspicion of committing three business holdups.
Victims of Hill made the following comments in the Thursday news release.
“Give him justice,” said Dick Olmstead, one of the victims. “I have been denied my freedom. (He should have) loss of freedom too.”
“Paul Hill needs to go to jail ... for as long as they can put them there,” added Paul Wilber, another victim.
Victims at Hill’s sentencing testified they were bilked out of their life savings, anywhere from $380,000 to more than $2 million.
“This has been a long journey for the victims of this offense because of Mr. Hill’s exiting himself from the state,” said Lori Varnell, chief of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s elder financial fraud team, in the news release. “However, we are pleased to see justice come for them and for our community.”
