GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A man who police say defrauded women on a dating website had a chance to tell a judge his side of the story.
Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes attended a preliminary hearing where John Martin Hill, 35, took the stand in his own defense against fraud charges.
Fernandes learned it all started when a Gwinnett County woman says she met Hill on the social dating website Match.com on March 27. Soon after their first date, she says they were supposed to buy a house together.
The woman went to the bank and handed Hill a check for $75,000. She also gave him an additional $8,500. Now she is claiming that Hill took off with her money.
Police arrested Hill and charged him with theft by deception.
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But Hill says he is innocent and also told the judge how he met the woman. He said she gave him a check to buy one of his internet businesses.
"She approached me. She asked if I was new to the area. She discussed knowing the area really well and said she was a tattoo artist for cancer patients. We started discussing business," Hill said.
Hill told the judge in court Tuesday that he has been unemployed since March 1, does not own a car, home or anything of that nature and that he does not have a checking or savings account.
The judge decided to move ahead with the fraud charges.
Hill has a long history of being accused of theft and fraud. He also had warrants in other states. Investigators told Fernandes the other states haven't caught up with Hill because he kept changing his name and address.