A Georgia woman said she handed more than $80,000 to a man she met online and planned to marry – then, he disappeared. Now, John Martin Hill is sitting in a Tennessee jail cell on charges of theft by deception and is waiting to be extradited back to Georgia to face a judge.
On Tuesday, police in Franklin, Tennessee received a tip Hill was in the area and found him at a hotel. According to the police report, Hill darted into a conference room and tried to hide from police under a table. Police told him to come out, and he was arrested.
11Alive’s Joe Henke dug into his background and discovered police are talking to detectives in at least six counties, across four other states – Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. Gwinnett County Police confirmed he uses aliases to hide his identity – sometimes referring to himself as Gregory Hill.
Police said Hill told the Alpharetta woman he met online that he was a millionaire and convinced her they were in love. According to Gwinnett County Police, they met through Match.com on March 27. After meeting in person on the same day, they agreed to get married within the week.
RELATED: He met her online and convinced her they were in love. Then police say he took $80K and left
Hill convinced the woman he was a millionaire and told her he wanted to buy a home with her, police said. They even went out and picked the house they wanted, and that’s when police said the woman gave Hill more than $80,000 to put toward buying the home and furniture. After he got the money, police said Hill disappeared.
Police also said Hill lived with another mother and child at an apartment in Duluth. While police commended the victim for coming forward, they are worried that there are others out there.
Anyone with information about Hill is asked to call Gwinnett County Police at 770-513-5300. Tipsters can do so and remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrimeATL.com.
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