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The Wayne County home explosion hate crime was an attempt to defraud an insurance company, according to court records

The Wayne County home explosion hate crime was an attempt to defraud an insurance company, according to court records

WAYNE COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) – A woman accused of portraying the explosion of her Wayne County home as a hate crime is facing multiple charges after investigators determined it was a scheme to defraud her insurance company , court documents say.

According to court records from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division, homeowner Angela Frase was indicted in federal court on Sept. 19 on four counts of mail fraud.

The explosion occurred at approximately 12:40 a.m. on August 7, 2019, in the 6700 block of Spruce Street in Sterling.

The house belonged to Angela and Brad Frase, an interracial couple who lived there for 23 years.

Angela Frase told 19 News later in the day that a misshapen swastika and the “n” word had been spray-painted on the neighbor’s garage and that racial slurs had been spray-painted blue on two of the neighbor’s cars.

Below is 19 News’ report from August 7, 2019:

“I got sick twice. That’s exactly what happened. It was like it didn’t just happen. I don’t understand,” Angela said on August 7, 2019.

Here is the full interview Angela Frase gave to 19 News on August 7, 2019:

Angela said she and Brad were not home at the time of the explosion.

“We got here and saw this, but it was on fire, you know? It was done, there was nothing that could be saved,” she told 19 News.

Because the house was being renovated due to a fire in early July 2019, natural gas and electricity were turned off.

The Ohio Fire Marshal, ATF, FBI and Sheriff’s Office investigators immediately worked on the case.

This is particularly urgent given the possibility that this could be a hate crime.

“Due to the spray paint on the garage, there were some racial slurs and a swastika sprayed on it. We will not tolerate this type of activity and behavior here,” Sheriff Travis Hutchison told 19 News on August 7, 2019.

Below is 19 News’ report from August 8, 2019:

“You’re going to find out, you’re going to pay for it, it’s disgusting to do this to someone at home and not even know if they’re in there,” Angela explained on August 7.

Federal court filings said investigators found that it was Angela Frase who “knowingly devised and intended to defraud her insurance company and obtain money and property through materially false and false claims.” to obtain fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises from approximately.” June 1, 2019 to June 17, 2020.

According to court documents, she received checks for more than $320,000.

According to federal prosecutors, in the months before the explosion, Angela began complaining about the flooding on Facebook, saying, “It’s time to sell this house and move.”

In July 2019, she called the fire department because of a living room fire. Frase said it was one of several fires caused by electrical problems. Firefighters extinguished the fire and found no problems. The next day, Frase called again and said her house was full of smoke. Emergency services extinguished another fire. The fire marshal said the cause was unknown.

According to court documents, a neighbor offered to help and Brad replied, “If you want to help me, you can blow up the rest of the house.”

The day before the house exploded, firefighters were called to the home for a natural gas leak. They discovered that leaving a stove burner on caused the house to fill with gas.

The Frases were staying at a hotel the night of the explosion, but authorities allege Angela returned to her home that night. According to prosecutors, firefighters received the call that the house had exploded less than an hour after Angela left.

Originally, Angela told police she was at her hotel all night, but a few days after the explosion, she said she left her hotel room to check on her cats and claimed she saw two suspicious people ran away from their garage.

The filing said an officer went to the scene and saw “White Power” spray-painted on her garage.

Then on Aug. 14, 2019, she called police and said she found a rag doll in her mailbox that was painted black and had a rope tied around its neck, the filing states.

On August 23, 2019, Angela Frase reported to authorities that she found a white envelope with four letters inside and inside was a clear plastic bag with the words “THE” written on it and an unknown white substance inside, according to the filing.

The filing said her husband told police he would bring them surveillance photos of the suspects, but he never did.

According to the filing, on March 10, 2020, Angela and Brad signed a property damage certificate claiming that an “apparent explosion” of “unknown origin” caused the fire with no witnesses.

19 News reached out to Frase and she claimed she knew nothing about the allegations and denied them. She refused to give an interview.

No charges have been filed against her husband, the filing states.

Here are the charges listed in the filing against Angela Frase:

Wayne County home explosion suggested as hate crime and seen as plot to defraud insurance company:...
Wayne County home explosion suggested hate crime, viewed as plot to defraud insurance company: records(United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division)

Below is the complete docket from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division:

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.