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A houston The woman who raised over $42,000 gofundmeShe has been sentenced to 10 years’ probation for theft after claiming a man threw a brick at her head and spending the money on spas, restaurants, rideshares and vacations to New York City and Jamaica.
During her sentencing hearing Wednesday after a Harris County jury returned a guilty verdict after two and a half hours of deliberations, Rhoda Osman, 35, was repeatedly told to remain quiet.
The man he falsely accused hit him with a brickOlan Douglas told kprc 2 news On Wednesday evening he was pleased with the outcome, which included a 90-day sentence for Usman Jail And repay the stolen money in full.
“It’s crazy, it’s amazing,” Douglas said Wednesday evening. “Normally nothing happens. I’m very happy.”
The case generated so much publicity that when Osman was first charged in 2024, Douglas came forward to tell kprc 2 news His side of the story, telling the station that he received death threats for a crime he did not commit.
“The hardest thing is to say nothing when the whole world is saying something about you,” he said. “It led to me being betrayed by people I thought really knew me.”
On September 3, 2023, police were called to an incident of serious assault outside a club in Houston. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a “drunk, hostile and angry” Osman who was with his friend.
Usman told police that the man, whom she believed to be her Uber driver, threw a brick at her head after he refused to give her his phone number.
The then 33-year-old woman said that when she got into the car with his driver, he tried to kidnap her after he accused her of being involved in human trafficking because there was a group of women in his car.
After the incident, Usman went live on Instagram and talked about being killed with a brick. The video went viral quickly,
When detectives tried to contact Usman, they learned that the number he had given belonged to his friend. The friend reported that he and Osman had gone to several clubs that night, and that they “drank a lot.”
After visiting the final club, the two sat in a car when the friend heard Osman yelling, “Ouch, why did you hit me?”
After speaking to the friend, the police called Osman, who said the man attacked him in the face with a brick and conducted their own “investigation” to determine his identity, accusing Doulgas of the alleged crime.
However, when police reviewed the surveillance footage, they saw Osman, his friend and Douglas enter the club together before leaving 20 minutes later. All three entered a car but got out after a few minutes.
The video shows Osman and Douglas in the middle of a “verbal argument” before she swings her right hand while holding an unknown object, striking Douglas in the face.
After this, while holding a plastic water bottle, he turned his right hand and hit her on the face.
A friend after Usman went live on Instagram Created a GoFundMe page on his behalf. Nearly $42,000 was raised after she claimed she was attacked by a black man after she refused to give him her phone number.
During the trial, bank records revealed that all the money donated had been spent. Harris County Prosecutor Keith Houston said the documents revealed spending on restaurants, spas, rideshares and trips to Jamaica and New York.
Houston told KPRC 2 it’s unclear what happened to Osman’s face, but the leading theory is that he hit his head on the car door frame.
The 35-year-old woman was detained to serve her 90-day sentence. He was also given a $50,000 appeal bond, and if posted, the sentence and conditions of probation will be suspended until the process is completed.