A woman who went viral on social media after claiming a man assaulted her with a brick outside a Houston club is now being accused of fraudulently raising thousands of dollars in a GoFundMe scam.
33-year-old Roda Osman is being charged with felony theft by deception, with reports alleging that she raised at least $40,000 through a GoFundMe page she started in September.
It was on September 3rd when police officers responded to an aggravated assault incident. They were met with an alleged ‘intoxicated, hostile and irate’ Osman, who claimed that an unknown man had thrown a brick at her when she would not give him her phone number, court documents show.
Documents also show that Osman told officers she believed that the brick-throwing suspect was her Uber driver, claiming that when she got into the car with him, he tried to kidnap her. Osman also stated the suspect was involved in human trafficking and had a large group of women in the car with him.
On September 19th, during the phone interview, Osman reiterated her story to the detective that she had entered a dark-coloured sedan, thinking it was the Uber which is when the suspect allegedly hit her in the face with a brick.
She also stated that she did her own investigation and found out it was a man named Olan Douglas who assaulted her.
However, when the surveillance video was analysed, it told a different story than what Osman had told detectives.
The footage capturing the incident did not support Osman’s recorded statement, charging documents show; Osman had left out many details about where she had been and who she was with, particularly omitting that she was one of four people who entered the vehicle she described to police.
According to charging documents, Osman and Douglas were in an argument and Douglas reportedly swung his right hand while holding what appeared to be a plastic water bottle and struck Osman in the face.
However, when Osman went live on Instagram after the incident, she went viral on social media. As a result, a GoFundMe account with Osman listed as the beneficiary. The account raised $42,302 as of Oct. 25, 2023, according to charging documents.
It stated that she was attacked by a Black male as she was walking down the street because she declined to give him her phone number, the report read.
The page reads, “Woman gets hospitalized after allegedly being hit in the face with a brick by a man she refused to give her number. The alleged incident happened in Houston. She says she was surrounded by men who did absolutely nothing. She says the man got in a car and left the scene after assaulting her and is afraid he will never get caught.”
However during the investigation, detectives said they received a call from Daphne Sutton, a mental health advocate and blogger on TikTok, who stated her belief that Osman was conducting a scam because of a similar situation that happened in Minneapolis in 2020.
She reportedly provided detectives with another GoFundMe account created for Osman in 2020 with the same narrative of a “Black man hitting her”.
Detectives reached out to the Mnneapolis Police Department to ask about the GoFundMe titled “Help Black Muslim Mother Pay Her Medical Bill”, documents read.
The description stated: “A young Black Muslim single mother was viciously assaulted by private security in Minneapolis, sustaining multiple facial contusions, a black eye and injuries to her leg. She needs an estimated $5K to pay for medical bills, legal fees and a new phone and more.”
The Minneapolis Police Department told the Houston Police Department that it has not received any reports of Osman being assaulted in 2020. The department further stated that the last contact any officers had with Osman was in 2012 for public lewdness and disorderly conduct.
Osman’s ex-roommate also reached out and told detectives that she and Osman were no longer friends after she discovered that Osman was scamming people and she wanted no part of it, claiming that Osman had created the GoFundMe in 2020 claiming that someone hit her, which was a lie.
Osman also has an extensive criminal history, with several prior charges in the Virgin Islands; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Hennepin County, Minnesota; Williamson County, Texas; Travis County, Texas.
Osman is also currently on bail for a separate offence from Sept. 22, 2023, for felony assault and domestic violence. She was charged with two accounts of misdemeanour domestic violence in Steele County, Minnesota.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe sent Click2Houston.com the following statement:
GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. The fundraiser has been removed from the platform, all donors have been refunded, and Roda Osman has been banned from using the platform for any future fundraisers.
It is not unusual for GoFundMe to pursue legal recourse against those who exploit the generosity of its giving community.
.png)
.png.PNG)
%203.PNG)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)