Serial Embezzler Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges For Stealing More Than $570,000 From Two Employers

 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Lisa Buza Hill, 41, of Belmont, N.C., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer today and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making false statements for embezzling more than $570,000 from two companies that employed her, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Hill was previously convicted of stealing more than $800,000 from a third company where she was employed. 

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Charlotte, and Chief Johnny Jennings, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), are joining Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, in 2012, Hill, also known as Lisa Rollins-Hill, was convicted of federal wire fraud after she admitted to stealing more than $800,000 from her then-employer, a motorcycle company headquartered in Kings Mountain, N.C. At the time, Hill was ordered to serve a five-month probationary term, three years of supervised release and to pay $807,506.39 in restitution to the victim company.

In July 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed new charges against Hill, for embezzling funds from a Charlotte-based company where Hill worked as a Controller. According to court documents filed in this case, from September 2019 to February 2020, and while still paying restitution for the 2012 embezzlement scheme, Hill misused her access to her employer’s financial system, including her authority to issue company checks, and defrauded the company by fraudulently issuing herself approximately 15 company checks totaling over $22,000. During this time, Hill also made false statements to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s attempts to collect court-ordered restitution owed by Hill in connection with her 2012 conviction.

In June 2021, while Hill’s criminal charges for the fraudulent check scheme were still pending, a federal bill of information was also filed against Hill, charging her with embezzling more than $550,000 from her latest employer, a development company located in Rock Hill, S.C., identified in court documents as Company A. According to court documents, from May 2020 to January 2021, Hill was employed by Company A as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). As the CFO, Hill had access to the company’s bank accounts, and her duties included the ability to make payments on behalf of the company. As court documents show, Hill misused her position and access to the company’s financial records to make unauthorized payments to herself, including to make transfers from Company A’s accounts to pay for Hill’s personal expenses. In total, Hill transferred more than $550,000 in authorized funds from Company A for her personal benefit. As Hill admitted in court today, Hill used the embezzled funds to make payments for a BMW vehicle, to pay for a trip to Disney World, to make mortgage payments and to settle misuse of funds allegations from previous employers.

Hill is in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set.

The FBI and CMPD conducted the investigations into Hill. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny G. Sugar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of Hill’s prosecution.