- A Houston woman raised $42,000 after claiming a man attacked her with a brick.
- But local police said Roda Osman fabricated her story and she was charged with theft by deception.
- Police said they had video evidence, but Osman told Business Insider the officers were lying.
A Houston woman who claimed she was attacked in the face with a brick is now under arrest by local police. Police allege the story was fabricated as part of a scam that raised $42,000 on GoFundMe.
But in a lengthy interview with Business Insider, the woman defended her changing story, accusing police of targeting her and claiming she was the victim of an assault.
Rhoda “Ro” Osman, 33, went viral on social media in September 2023 after posting a video showing a man hitting her in the face with a brick after she refused to give him his phone number.
In a video shared on social media (later deleted), Osman appears to have a swollen face and is wearing a hospital gown, claiming the man attacked her.
“He picked up a brick in front of a bunch of guys and I was like, 'What are you going to do?'” she says through tears.
“So I said to all these guys, like you guys, why did this guy put a brick in my face?” she said in the video, explaining that she was attacked and The other men accused him of not doing anything.
The video went viral last year, earning Osman the nickname “The Brick Lady” and many creators joining in to discuss what happened.
Over the next two months, a GoFundMe page called “Help Roda Recover” raised more than $42,000.
The description of the deleted page was: “My friend Roda was violently attacked with a brick by a man who refused to give her his number. She was surrounded by bystanders who did nothing to help her. I did. I even called an ambulance.”
However, Osman is now charged with one count of theft by deception, which could carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Police say Osman's story doesn't add up
In a detective's affidavit outlining the charges against Osman, police said surveillance footage showed Osman was injured in the crash, but that she was the assailant.
Detectives wrote that the footage shows Osman, her female friend, and the man she claims attacked her getting into a car together outside the club.
Minutes later, three people got out of the car while Osman and the man appeared to have a verbal argument, the affidavit said, citing surveillance footage.
According to the affidavit, Osman hit the man in the face with an “unknown object,” and the man then hit her with a water bottle. Police have not released the footage and BI has not seen it.
Detectives wrote that Osman filed a complaint with police but changed his story at least once when they spoke on the phone.
Osman initially told detectives that she called Uber and a man arrived in a car she believed to be the one she had hired, according to the affidavit. The woman told detectives that she was in her car and the man hit her with a brick, police said.
The affidavit also states that Osman claimed the man was “involved in human trafficking and had a number of women in his vehicle.”
Osman later changed his story and instead told detectives that he had been assaulted at a nightclub, according to the affidavit.
The detective said the detective asked for more information, became angry because he was asked to speak to his supervisor, and then hung up.
Detectives said in the affidavit that they also spoke with a female friend of Osman, who told police she did not believe Osman had hit her with a brick.
Police allege in the complaint that a friend started a GoFundMe page based on Osman's story of being attacked with a brick.
Police said in the complaint that several donors reported the GoFundMe page as a scam.
GoFundMe said in a statement to BI that Osman's fundraiser has been removed from the platform, all donors have been refunded, and he is now banned from using the site.
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for abuse of our platform and will cooperate with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,” GoFundMe said in a statement to BI.
The affidavit also said Osman had a similar GoFundMe set for her in 2020 with a goal of $5,000 over a separate incident in which she claimed she was assaulted by a security guard. There is.
The detective said he interviewed a woman who was living with Osman when the first GoFundMe was set up. A former roommate said the donation was based on a false story, according to the affidavit.
Detectives also said in the affidavit that there were no police reports of the alleged assault in 2020.
Houston police confirmed to Business Insider that Osman remains wanted and said she is the only person charged in connection with the case.
Prime Minister Osman refutes fabrication allegations
In an interview on Friday, Osman told BI that on the night of the incident, he went to a club with a female friend and met two men. She said one of the men harassed Osman all night, asking for her phone number even though she refused.
Around 4 or 5 a.m., Osman told BI that she and her friend and two other men were standing on the street, wondering whether to call an Uber.
She said the man who was eavesdropping put her hand “on his penis” and strangled her, causing her to try to escape from him. Her affidavit outlining her charges against Osman does not mention her claim that Douglas forced her to grab his penis.
She said the man then hit her in the head with something before running to his friend's car and fleeing.
Osman told BI that when he saw a brick on the ground, he thought Osman used it to hit him.
Osman claimed police were lying about the surveillance footage. She said she never had anything in her hand and that the object with which the man hit her may have been a liquor bottle.
After he was hit, he called the police and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Mr. Osman shared hospital records with BI in which a doctor reported that Mr. Osman had bruises on the left side of his face and blood was coming out of his left ear.
Osman told BI that he couldn't remember everything completely clearly because he had been hit in the head, had a concussion, and had been drinking.
Osman told BI, “Not remembering every detail of an assault or trauma is not a crime,'' and added, “The police are saying I changed my story because they didn't think I was the victim from the beginning.'' I think it's a sign that they're not being treated properly,” he added.
Osman told BI that she believed police filed charges against her in retaliation for reporting one of the officers assigned to her case.
Houston police declined to comment on her allegations.
She also stressed that she should not be charged with fraud because she did not create the GoFundMe drive. Osman told BI that her friend made it because she wanted to help.
Responding to police claims that Osman ran a fake GoFundMe in 2020, Osman said: “It was not a scam. Police receive information from social media.”
“Being attacked multiple times in life is neither a crime nor a hoax,” she added, adding, “They have no right to say my last attack was fake and in fact this is their innate bias.” Another manifestation of prejudice.'' They refused to see me as a victim.'' ”
She also said she never reported the 2020 incident to police because she worked with the facility where it happened to deal with it.
“There is no such thing as a perfect victim,” Osman told BI. “No one deserves to be assaulted, and no one deserves to be re-victimized over and over again.”
