Who Is Ian Diaz? Where the Former U.S. Deputy Marshal From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile

Ian Diaz is a former deputy U.S. marshal whose role in the framing of his former fiancée, Michelle Hadley, is at the center of NBC’s Dateline episode “Simply Diabolical.” The case began in 2016 when Hadley was accused of stalking Diaz and his new wife, Angela Connell. Hadley spent 88 days in jail while facing accusations that she had used threatening emails and Craigslist advertisements to arrange attacks on Connell.

Years of investigation produced a different account. Federal prosecutors proved that Diaz and Connell had posed as Hadley, sent threatening communications to themselves and used online advertisements as part of a scheme designed to make Hadley appear responsible for crimes she had not committed. A federal jury convicted Diaz in March 2023 of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction of a federal matter. He is now serving a sentence of more than 10 years in federal prison.

• “Simply Diabolical”: Dateline NBC Reports on How Michelle Hadley Was Framed in a Cyberstalking Plot August 21 2026
• Who Is Michelle Hadley? Where the “Simply Diabolical” Survivor Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Angela Connell? Where Ian Diaz’s Former Wife From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile

Ian Diaz Was a Deputy U.S. Marshal

Before his conviction, Ian R. Diaz worked as a deputy with the United States Marshals Service, one of the federal government’s major law enforcement agencies. He was assigned to the U.S. District Courthouse in Los Angeles and held a position that gave him federal law enforcement authority.

His profession became a major part of the case because Diaz presented himself to local police as the victim of a dangerous stalking campaign. Michelle Hadley has said his law enforcement position influenced the way authorities viewed the claims against her. She believed Diaz received a level of credibility that she did not have when she denied sending the messages attributed to her.

Federal investigators later reached the opposite conclusion about his conduct. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found evidence that Diaz had taken part in the scheme against Hadley. His status as a federal law enforcement officer made the findings more serious because investigators concluded that a person entrusted with enforcing the law had participated in fabricating a case that sent an innocent woman to jail.

Diaz Had Been Engaged to Michelle Hadley

Diaz and Michelle Hadley began a relationship before the events that led to the criminal case. The couple became engaged and purchased a condominium in Anaheim, California, near Disneyland.

The property became an important source of conflict after their relationship ended. Hadley had contributed money toward the condominium, and the former couple remained financially connected through the property after their romantic relationship was over.

Recent reporting on the federal case has identified the condominium dispute as part of the motive prosecutors presented for the scheme. The government alleged that the plot could put pressure on Hadley in connection with her interest in the property.

Hadley has since described her relationship with Diaz as controlling and abusive. In Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story, released in 2026, she said she became afraid of him and felt that he monitored her movements. She also described pressure involving sex and financial issues during their relationship.

Michelle Hadley Sent Diaz Angry Emails After Their Relationship Ended

The end of the relationship was not peaceful. Hadley has acknowledged sending Diaz angry emails containing religious and biblical imagery.

Those messages would become important because a new online identity appeared during the stalking campaign against Diaz and Connell. The person behind the account called themselves “Lilithistruth,” a reference to Lilith, a figure associated with Jewish folklore.

Messages attributed to the account contained violent threats and disturbing images. Some of the language resembled the style Hadley had used in her own communications with Diaz.

Hadley denied writing the violent material. She has said the messages she sent Diaz were angry but did not contain the graphic threats found in the later communications. Investigators would come to believe that elements of her writing style had been used to make fabricated messages appear to have come from her.

Ian Diaz Marries Angela Connell

After his relationship with Hadley ended, Diaz became involved with Angela Connell. Connell married him and used the surname Diaz during the marriage.

Angela told Diaz and others that she was pregnant with twins. She also presented herself as someone with a professional and medical history that investigators would later learn contained major fabrications.

The couple began telling police that Hadley was targeting them.

The story appeared credible on its surface. Hadley was Diaz’s former fiancée. Their relationship had ended with conflict. Diaz was now married to another woman who claimed to be pregnant. There were angry emails from Hadley, followed by threatening communications that appeared to use similar language.

The apparent evidence created a narrative in which Hadley looked like a former partner seeking revenge.

Threatening Emails Escalate Into a Sexual Assault Plot

The accusations went beyond threatening emails.

Craigslist advertisements appeared online describing what prosecutors referred to as “rape fantasies.” Men responding to the advertisements were encouraged to go to the Anaheim condominium and participate in sexual encounters involving Connell.

The advertisements created a serious danger because respondents believed they were communicating with Connell or with someone acting with her consent.

Diaz and Connell then told police that Hadley was responsible for arranging the encounters.

Federal prosecutors later said Diaz and Connell had posed as Hadley while sending themselves threatening communications. They also solicited men through Craigslist and attempted to make it appear that Hadley had arranged sexual attacks on Connell.

Michelle Hadley Is Arrested

Police accepted the theory that Hadley was behind the campaign.

She was arrested in 2016 and faced serious criminal charges. After a second arrest, she was held on $1 million bail. The accusations included conduct connected to attempted sexual assault and stalking.

Hadley maintained that she had not created the Craigslist advertisements and had not sent the violent communications.

She spent 88 days in jail.

During that period, the case received media attention that portrayed Hadley as a jealous former fiancée who had developed an obsession with Diaz and his new wife.

The Justice Department later stated that Diaz and Connell’s actions caused local law enforcement to arrest, charge and detain Hadley for almost three months for conduct for which they had framed her.

The Case Against Hadley Begins to Fall Apart

Problems developed with the accusations against Hadley as investigators examined Angela Connell’s claims and the electronic evidence.

Connell had claimed she was pregnant with twins. That pregnancy did not exist. According to accounts presented in A Toxic Love Story, Diaz found a doctored sonogram and pregnancy tests that appeared to have been altered.

Investigators also learned about false claims Connell had made before her relationship with Diaz, including claims about cancer and her employment.

The discoveries cast doubt on the accusations against Hadley.

Digital evidence created greater problems. Investigators began finding signs that communications attributed to Hadley had originated from locations connected to Connell.

Hadley was released after 88 days in custody, and prosecutors dismissed the case against her in January 2017.

Angela Connell Is Convicted

Connell became the first person prosecuted for framing Hadley.

She was arrested in January 2017 and later pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme and other acts. She received a five-year state prison sentence.

Her conviction established that Hadley had been framed, but it left questions about Diaz.

Diaz’s marriage to Connell was annulled. He was not prosecuted with her in the state case and remained outside prison for several years after Hadley’s exoneration.

That gap became one of the central issues in the later history of the case.

Federal Investigators Begin Looking at Diaz

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Cyber Investigations Office opened an investigation in 2017.

Investigators examined whether Diaz had participated in the plot and whether his position as a deputy U.S. marshal had played a part in the events.

The investigation involved emails, electronic records, police body-camera footage and other digital evidence.

Federal agents concluded that Diaz had not been a passive husband deceived by Connell.

According to the Justice Department, Diaz and his then-wife worked together. They posed as Hadley and sent themselves threatening electronic communications. They used Craigslist advertisements to solicit men for purported sexual encounters. They then reported the resulting incidents to law enforcement while accusing Hadley.

Diaz and Connell Used Technology to Conceal the Scheme

Federal prosecutors presented evidence that the conspirators took measures designed to hide who was behind the communications.

The Justice Department said they used email accounts registered under false information and virtual private networks to access the internet without revealing their normal connections.

They also communicated with each other through encrypted messaging services.

Diaz deleted email accounts that had been used in connection with the scheme.

These actions became part of the government’s case that the conduct was planned rather than the result of Diaz believing false claims made by his wife.

A Craigslist Respondent Helps Expose Diaz’s Role

One of the most important pieces of digital evidence concerned a man who responded to an online advertisement connected to the alleged sexual assault fantasy.

The original accusation was that Hadley had posed as Connell and encouraged the man to travel to the Anaheim condominium.

Investigators found evidence connecting Diaz himself to the communications.

According to the account presented in A Toxic Love Story, digital evidence showed a message from Diaz’s personal account continuing a conversation with a respondent and asking whether he was heading toward the condominium.

For federal investigators, evidence of that type challenged the position that Diaz knew nothing about the communications and believed Hadley was behind them.

The investigation developed into a federal criminal case.

Ian Diaz Is Charged in Federal Court

Diaz was arrested in May 2021, years after Hadley’s release and Connell’s prosecution.

Federal authorities charged him with crimes arising from the cyberstalking conspiracy and his conduct during the federal investigation.

The prosecution placed his actions under scrutiny in a way the original local investigation had not.

Evidence presented at trial showed that the scheme included false identities, threatening messages, Craigslist advertisements, reports to law enforcement and steps designed to conceal the electronic trail.

The government also accused Diaz of lying during the investigation and obstructing the inquiry into the scheme.

A Jury Convicts Ian Diaz

Diaz went on trial in federal court in California.

On March 23, 2023, a jury found him guilty on all four counts before it.

He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, one count of cyberstalking, one count of perjury and one count of obstructing a federal proceeding.

The verdict represented another reversal in a case that had begun seven years earlier with Hadley being treated as the criminal.

Hadley was no longer the accused former girlfriend. She had been exonerated.

Connell had gone from reported stalking victim to convicted defendant.

Diaz had gone from deputy U.S. marshal and reported stalking victim to a convicted federal defendant.

Michelle Hadley’s Daughter Was Born on the Day of His Conviction

March 23, 2023, carried a separate meaning for Hadley.

Her daughter was born on the same day the jury convicted Diaz.

The coincidence has become part of Hadley’s account of rebuilding her life after the case. While her former fiancé was receiving a guilty verdict, she was beginning a new part of her life as a mother.

Hadley has since used her experience to speak about abuse, coercive control and financial abuse. Her story became a major part of Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story in 2026.

Diaz declined to participate in the documentary.

Ian Diaz Receives More Than 10 Years in Federal Prison

Diaz returned to federal court for sentencing on June 30, 2023.

The judge sentenced him to 121 months in federal prison. That equals 10 years and one month.

The sentence also included three years of supervised release after his prison term.

Diaz was taken into custody after the sentencing hearing.

The exact sentence is important because it is sometimes described as a 10-year sentence. His federal sentence is 121 months, making it one month longer than 10 years.

The conviction also ended his career as a deputy U.S. marshal.

The Justice Department Condemns Diaz’s Conduct

Federal officials used strong language when discussing the case.

The Justice Department Office of the Inspector General said Diaz’s actions and lies had stripped Hadley of her freedom and liberty. Investigators described the case as involving stalking, harassment and obstruction by a federal law enforcement officer.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that Hadley had spent almost three months incarcerated because of conduct for which she had been framed.

The case therefore involved more than online harassment. Fabricated electronic evidence had been used to set the criminal justice system in motion against an innocent person.

Diaz Appeals His Convictions

Diaz challenged his convictions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

His appeal included arguments concerning the federal cyberstalking statute and the instructions given to the jury at his trial.

The Ninth Circuit rejected those arguments.

On January 23, 2025, the appeals court affirmed all four convictions. The ruling left intact his convictions for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction of a federal investigation.

The decision meant Diaz could not overturn his conviction through his direct appeal.

His 121-month sentence remained in effect.

Diaz Has Continued to Challenge His Case

Diaz has continued pursuing post-conviction legal relief after losing his direct appeal.

Recent reporting indicates that he has filed a motion seeking to challenge his conviction based on claims concerning the representation he received from his trial lawyer. Such a filing represents Diaz’s allegations about his case and does not change the jury’s verdict unless a federal court grants relief.

As of August 2026, there has been no court ruling overturning his convictions or cancelling his prison sentence.

The four federal convictions therefore remain in force.

Where Is Ian Diaz Now?

As of August 2026, Ian Diaz remains in federal prison.

Recent reporting identifies his place of incarceration as Federal Medical Center Fort Worth, commonly known as FMC Fort Worth, in Texas.

FMC Fort Worth is part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons system. Despite the word “medical” in its name, placement at a federal medical center does not establish anything about Diaz’s personal health, and no conclusion about his medical condition should be drawn from his incarceration there.

Diaz is serving the 121-month sentence imposed in June 2023. Recent reporting based on federal prison information lists his projected release date as January 31, 2031.

That date can change because Federal Bureau of Prisons release calculations can be affected by sentence credits and other factors.

Is Ian Diaz Still a U.S. Marshal?

No. Diaz is no longer a deputy U.S. marshal.

He was described by the Justice Department as a former deputy U.S. marshal by the time he received his sentence in June 2023. His federal law enforcement career ended after the criminal case against him.

His conviction created an unusual contrast with his position at the beginning of the case. When Hadley was arrested in 2016, Diaz was a federal law enforcement officer reporting that he and his wife were victims.

Seven years later, he was the person standing before a federal judge to receive a prison sentence for helping create the false evidence that contributed to Hadley’s incarceration.

What Happened to Ian and Angela’s Marriage?

Diaz and Angela Connell are no longer married.

Their marriage was annulled after the truth about Connell’s conduct began emerging. Connell went to state prison after pleading guilty to charges connected to framing Hadley and other acts.

The later federal case showed that Diaz could not be viewed only as another person deceived by Connell.

A federal jury found that he had participated in the cyberstalking conspiracy.

Connell has since completed her state prison sentence and left California, according to accounts connected to the case. She declined to participate in Netflix’s documentary.

Did Ian Diaz Participate in “A Toxic Love Story”?

Diaz did not appear for an interview in Netflix’s A Toxic Love Story.

The filmmakers said they contacted him and offered him an opportunity to participate. Diaz declined.

His absence means the documentary presents his conduct through court evidence, investigators, Hadley and other people connected to the case rather than through a new interview with Diaz.

The federal court record provides the legal outcome. A jury convicted him, a federal judge sentenced him to 121 months and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions.

Diaz’s Story Is Central to “Simply Diabolical”

Ian Diaz enters NBC’s Dateline: Simply Diabolical as one of the most important figures in a case built around changing perceptions of guilt and victimhood.

In 2016, he appeared to be a federal law enforcement officer whose former fiancée had become a threat to him and his new wife.

Michelle Hadley appeared to be the suspect.

That version of events collapsed.

Hadley was exonerated. Connell was prosecuted. Federal investigators then spent years examining Diaz’s involvement.

The resulting case established that Diaz and Connell had posed as Hadley, created threatening communications, used Craigslist advertisements and reported the resulting events to police as if Hadley were responsible.

Where the Case Stands in 2026

Ian Diaz remains a convicted federal inmate as of August 2026.

His direct appeal has failed. The Ninth Circuit affirmed his convictions in January 2025. His 121-month sentence remains in place, and current reporting lists him at FMC Fort Worth in Texas with a projected release date of January 31, 2031.

Michelle Hadley, the woman he was convicted of conspiring to cyberstalk and frame, is free and has rebuilt her life. She is now a mother and has spoken about abuse, financial control and the experience of spending 88 days incarcerated for crimes she did not commit.

Diaz’s fall from federal law enforcement officer to federal prisoner forms one of the central threads of Dateline: Simply Diabolical. What began with him presenting himself to police as a victim ended with a federal jury concluding that he had helped manufacture the evidence used against his former fiancée.

NBC’s Dateline: Simply Diabolical airs Friday, August 21, 2026, at 10/9c, with Dennis Murphy reporting on Michelle Hadley’s wrongful imprisonment, Angela Connell’s role in the deception and the federal investigation that led to Ian Diaz’s conviction.

More “Simply Diabolical”

• “Simply Diabolical”: Dateline NBC Reports on How Michelle Hadley Was Framed in a Cyberstalking Plot August 21 2026
• Who Is Michelle Hadley? Where the “Simply Diabolical” Survivor Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Ian Diaz? Where the Former U.S. Deputy Marshal From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Angela Connell? Where Ian Diaz’s Former Wife From “Simply Diabolical” Is Now – 2026 Update & Profile