STERLING, Ohio — Federal court documents reveal that investigators believe Wayne County resident Angela Frase intentionally blew up her home in an elaborate fabricated hate crime scheme to defraud an insurance company.
The seven-page court filing shows that Frase and her husband devised the scheme to defraud and obtain money and property by means of false pretenses. She has been charged with four counts of mail fraud.
Community members raised thousands for the couple, who claimed they were victims of a series of hate crimes.
In one incident, Frase reported to police that a stuffed doll was left in her mailbox with a noose tied around its neck.
The Sterling Fire Department responded to a fire on Spruce Street in Sterling, Ohio, on Aug. 7, 2019, shortly after midnight.
"I got a call last night, it was 12:47 and I remember thinking 'who's calling me at one in the morning?' It was my neighbor and he thought lightning had struck the house," Frase told 3News in an interview after the explosion. You can watch her conversation with us below.
Documents show that the Sterling Fire Department had also responded to the home on Aug. 6, for a reported natural gas leak.
Investigators determined that Frase left the hotel she was staying at and drove to the home on Aug. 6, just about an hour before the house exploded.
The documents show that the Ohio State Fire Marshall’s Office found racist graffiti and a swastika symbol painted on the garage of the home.
Investigators revealed that Frase did not tell law enforcement that she was at the home just before the explosion. She told them that she did not leave her hotel that evening, according to the documents.
Frase reported to investigators that days later, on August 11, she went to the home to check on her cats and discovered two individuals near her garage, according to the documents.
Investigators then discovered “white power” written on the side of the garage. A neighbor allegedly told police that they did not see anyone in the area.
Days later on August 14, Frase reported to police that she found a doll with a noose tied around it's neck in her mailbox.
About a week later on August 23, Frase reported to police that they located an envelope with the word “DIE” written on the inside of it along with an unknown white substance.
In March 2020, Frase and her husband claimed the fire was caused by an “apparent explosion” of “origin unknown,” with no witnesses to the insurance company, according to the documents.
The documents show the insurance company paid the couple more than a quarter of a million dollars. The documents also show Frase made other reports to the Sterling Fire Department and reported another fire in the home, about a month before the explosion.
Our team has reached out to Frase's attorney for comment. You can read the court filing below.