Ohio resident sentenced for insurance claim fraud

OHIO — A Sterling woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for a fraudulent insurance scheme that included arson and staged hate crimes, officials said.

Angela Frase, 60, was sentenced to 24 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster after pleading guilty to four counts of mail fraud.

She was also ordered to pay $327,072 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Prosecutors said Frase orchestrated a scheme between July and August 2019 to defraud a homeowner’s insurance company.

On July 2 and 3, 2019, she reported a fire at her home in Seville, Ohio. While investigators were unable to determine the cause at the time, the insurance company covered the damage and placed Frase and her husband in an extended-stay hotel.

A month later, on Aug. 6, remodeling crews working on the damaged home discovered a strong natural gas leak.

Authorities later determined that the stove had been turned on intentionally, filling the house with dangerous gas levels.

That same evening, Frase drove to the residence, set another fire, and returned to her hotel, investigators said.

Hours later, emergency crews responded to a fire and explosion at the home. Officials determined the blaze had been deliberately set.

In an apparent effort to mislead investigators, Frase also spray-painted racial slurs on her garage and vandalized a neighbor’s vehicle, authorities said.

She later reported additional staged incidents, including finding a stuffed doll with a noose around its neck in her mailbox and an envelope with a racial slur and an unknown white substance.

Between November 2019 and June 2020, Frase received four insurance payments for property losses, which led to the mail fraud charges.

The FBI Cleveland Division, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki prosecuted the case.