A woman who gained social media fame for claiming she was hit with a brick outside a Houston club is now facing charges of felony theft by deception. Roda Osman, 33, allegedly raised $40,000 through a fraudulent GoFundMe page following her viral claim of being assaulted by a man in September. However, Houston police later found inconsistencies in her story, with surveillance footage revealing a different sequence of events.
According to the original report, Osman claimed an unknown man threw a brick at her for refusing to give him her phone number. She also said the man attempted to kidnap her. Despite Osman’s initial claims, both the physical evidence and witness accounts contradicted her story. Her friend, present during the incident, expressed doubts, stating that she didn’t believe Osman was hit with a brick.
Further investigation uncovered surveillance footage showing Osman, her friend, and the alleged attacker talking and socializing at a club, with no evidence of the assault she described. After going live on Instagram and receiving widespread attention, a GoFundMe page was created, raising over $42,000 for Osman. However, after concerns were raised, the fundraiser was flagged as fraudulent and taken down.
TikTok blogger Daphne Sutton, who had suspicions about Osman due to similar claims from 2020 in Minneapolis, contacted the police. She provided information about another fraudulent GoFundMe Osman was involved in, which further discredited her current claims.
The Harris County District Attorney has requested a $50,000 bail for Osman on the new charge of theft by deception. Although Osman agreed to surrender to police, she failed to appear at the scheduled time.
