A former deputy U.S. marshal was found guilty in Los Angeles Thursday of hatching a twisted "rape fantasy" scheme to make it look like his former fiancée had tried to lure men on Craigslist to rape his then-wife.
Ian Diaz and Angela Diaz, whom he later divorced, executed the plot in 2016 that sent Michelle Hadley to jail for 88 days before she was exonerated.
"Diaz's egregious actions and lies to law enforcement stripped a woman of her freedom and liberty," said Special Agent in Charge Harry Lidsky of the Department of Justice's cyber crimes unit in a press release. "This kind of stalking, harassment and obstruction is unconscionable."
The Diaz couple concocted the conspiracy after Ian Diaz and Hadley became embroiled in a dispute over a condo they had purchased together in 2015 in Anaheim, California, according to court papers.
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After Hadley moved out, Ian met and married Angela, and they lived in the condo together, the papers said. However, Hadley was still on the hook for part of the mortgage payment, leading to an ongoing fight.
In June 2016, Angela falsely reported harassing messages from Hadley to the Anaheim police, then obtained a restraining order against her. She used more than eight different email accounts to send the messages posing as Hadley, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
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That same month, Angela pretended to be Hadley and "responded to advertisements online, soliciting participants to engage in ‘rape fantasies’ and sexual acts resembling rape," the district attorney said in a press release. "Diaz told the responders that she wanted them to have forcible sexual intercourse with her, even if she screamed or resisted."
Police intercepted two men who were on their way to Diaz's home to fulfill her request. However, Angela insisted that Hadley was stalking her and posting the fantasy rape ads.
On June 24, 2016, Angela called 911 and reported that a man had entered her garage and tried to rape her before she fought him off.
Hadley was arrested and released that same day on bond, but Angela continued her unrelenting campaign, which culminated in Hadley's second arrest a little over a month later.
She was held on $1 million bail and remained in jail for nearly three months until the investigators discovered that Angela was behind the scheme.
Hadley was fully exonerated by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, while Angela pleaded guilty in 2017 in exchange for five years in state prison.
Ian Diaz insisted he knew nothing of Angela's machinations, but a federal probe into Diaz launched in 2017 revealed that he masterminded the entire plot. He was indicted in 2021 and was relieved of his duties as a criminal investigator in Los Angeles.
A jury in the Central District of California convicted Ian of one count each of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstructing a federal proceeding. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced June 30.
Hadley, who earned an MBA from Chapman University and works at Saks Fifth Avenue, according to her Facebook page, issued a statement after the conviction.
"I am so grateful to the [Justice Department] for the work they put into this case and to the jury for a conviction that has brought so much peace to my family and restored some of the faith we lost in the justice system as a result of Diaz’s crimes against me," Hadley said in a statement to NBC News.
