The family of a Truckee teenager who drove into Prosser Reservoir and drowned in 2022 was awarded $17.5 million from a Nashville rap artist who posted repeatedly about the missing girl.
Kiely Rodni's father and grandfather, Daniel Rodni and David Robertson, filed the lawsuit in July 2023 against Ryan Upchurch. The musician and social media influencer, who has 3 million followers on YouTube, posted false claims and conspiracy theories about Kiely on social media, according to court filings.
Kiely was 16 when she went missing Aug. 6, 2022, from a party at Prosser Family Campground, a popular teen meetup spot in Tahoe National Forest outside Truckee in Northern California.
The search drew national attention and involved local and federal law enforcement agencies. Police dive teams searched Prosser Reservoir, a popular recreation area 35 miles west of Reno, but did not find Kiely or her silver 2013 Honda CR-V.
Two weeks after she disappeared, a private dive team with a YouTube channel found Kiely's body in her submerged SUV in the reservoir 55 feet from shore. Authorities ruled her death an accidental drowning and said no foul play was involved.
According to a complaint filed in Tennessee, Upchurch made multiple false statements about Kiely and her family, including that they were fictional and that a GoFundMe account set up in her name was a scam.
Upchurch also published the family's home address and viewers of his YouTube channel flooded Robertson's business with negative...
(The Center Square) – A Minnesota court has ordered a man to pay nearly $2.5 million in damages, penalties and legal fees after a jury found he submitted nearly 100,000 fraudulent reimbursement cl...