'Serial Con Artist' Framed Romantic Rival in Elaborate Scheme: Orange County DA

FULLERTON, CA — A woman once thought to be the victim is now facing charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, forgery, perjury and grand theft, the Orange County District Attorney's office announced Monday.

A romantic rivalry between two women was the reason, according to OCDA's office, who asked a judge Monday to dismiss charges against an Ontario woman, Michelle Suzanne Hadley. The 30-year-old was falsely accused of harassing, stalking, pretending to be the wife of her ex-fiancee, and placing ads online soliciting "rape fantasies," officials said.

Prosecutors say Angela Maria Diaz, 31, of Phoenix, Arizona framed Hadley – who ultimately spent several months behind bars in the case due to what turned out to be false allegations.

Diaz, in turn, was charged Friday and is awaiting extradition to California. With the multiple charges against her, she could face up to nearly 14 years behind bars if convicted, the DA's office said.

Officials say the convoluted case starts with Hadley, who was engaged for two years to a U.S. Marshals Service agent. After they broke up, he married Diaz in February of last year. The man, whose name was not released, is separated from Diaz now.

Diaz allegedly used sophisticated computer software to spoof emails to make it appear Hadley was posting online classified ads encouraging men to sexually assault Diaz.

After Diaz allegedly staged an attempted sexual assault on herself in which she had red marks on her neck and breast, police arrested Hadley, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told reporters.

"At some point during the investigation, as authorities were seeking computer addresses for the origin of those emails, they began to suspect Diaz was framing Hadley," Deputy District Attorney Rick Zimmer said.

Diaz is also accused of doctoring a paycheck to add $2,000, an alleged crime uncovered during the investigation. Diaz is additionally accused of faking cervical cancer, masquerading as an attorney, forging doctor's notes, faking a pregnancy and posing as two ex-girlfriends of her estranged husband, prosecutors said.

"From what we're seeing, she's a serial con artist," Zimmer alleged. "She duped us. It was very sophisticated, well thought out and took a great deal of planning."

The estranged husband has not been accused of wrongdoing, but the investigation is ongoing, Rackauckas said.

Orange County District Attorney's Office Photo