‘Brick lady’ who shared video of her horrifically-swollen face after accusing a man of attacking her with a block for spurning his advances is branded a LIAR by cops: Raked in $40,000 on GoFundMe
A Houston woman who claimed a man attacked her with a rock has been charged with lying and raising $40,000 through a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign.
Roda Osman, 33, who earned the nickname “Brick Lady” on social media, has been charged with theft by deception.
She is accused of raising tens of thousands of dollars through a GoFundMe organization that claimed she was the victim of a similar attack more than three years ago.
The investigation stems from a report of serious assault on September 3. Police responded and found Osman and her friend, reporting that the 33-year-old was drunk and hostile.
According to a police report, Osman claimed that an unknown man threw a rock at her when she refused to give him her phone number. She told officers she called an Uber and believed the suspect was the driver, whom she accused of involvement in human trafficking.
Roda Osman, a 33-year-old Houston woman, was hit with a misdemeanor charge of theft by deception for lying about an alleged assault
Osman went viral on social media after posting videos of her swollen face, claiming a man hit her in the face with a rock after she refused to give him her number
Osman raised over $40,000 through a GoFundMe campaign before it was reported as fraudulent and taken down
On September 15, detectives tried to contact Osman, but the number she gave belonged to her friend. The friend said she and Osman went to the bar before Osman called some male friends to pick them up.
The men arrived in a dark-colored sedan and the friend was in the front passenger seat while Osman climbed into the back seat with another man.
The friend reportedly heard Osman shouting and asking, “Why did you hit me?” but had heard no argument beforehand. She also stated off the record that she did not believe Osman had been hit with a rock.
The man who allegedly attacked Osman got out of the car, got into another and fled, she explained. Osman then went live on Instagram as her friend begged her to call the police.
A detective managed to reach Osman on September 19. The 33-year-old claimed she and her friend started their evening at the O2 Lounge before heading to the Liquid Lounge.
After leaving the second club, Osman said, she called an Uber. According to charging documents, Osman mistook the aforementioned sedan for the Uber and got in.
She alleged that the suspect then hit her in the face with a rock. She identified the man as one Olan Douglas and claimed she had done her own research.
The 33-year-old said the man who threw the rock was an Uber driver who had tried to kidnap her and was involved in human trafficking
A friend told police a different story, claiming that she and Osman had gone to a bar one evening when Osman called her male friends to pick them up. She heard Osman ask one of the men why he hit her, but told investigators she did not believe Osman had been hit with a rock.
Police had security footage showing Osman arguing with Olan Douglas, the man she alleged hit her with a rock. He waved his hand as he appeared to be holding a plastic water bottle that collided with her face
During the investigation, detectives received a tip about a similar GoFundMe page that was believed to be a scam. The 2020 campaign claimed that a ‘young black Muslim single mother’ was attacked by private security, leaving her with serious injuries
Osman later changed her story and said she was attacked at the Liquid Lounge. As the detective prodded her, she became increasingly frustrated and hung up.
In the following days, police collected security footage from nearby surveillance cameras and were able to identify Olan Douglas, the man who accused Osman of assault.
In the video, Douglas, Osman and her boyfriend were seen walking into a club. About twenty minutes later, the trio returned and walked to a white Maserati parked nearby.
They all got into the car together with a fourth man. Osman and Douglas got into the backseat. A few minutes later, Douglas was seen leaving the car, followed by Osman and her boyfriend.
As Osman and Douglas argued, Douglas waved his hand while holding what appeared to be a plastic water bottle, hitting Osman in the face.
Investigators ultimately concluded that the footage did not support Osman’s retelling of the events.
On September 4, a day after the alleged assault, a GoFundMe campaign was set up naming Osman as a beneficiary.
The campaign claimed that a woman in Houston was hit in the face with a rock after refusing to give her number to a man. It previously raised more than $42,000 Backers reported it as fraudulent and it was removed.
During the investigation, detectives received a tip about a similar GoFundMe page stemming from an incident that occurred three years earlier in Minneapolis.
That campaign was titled “Help Black Muslim Mother Pay Her Medical Bill” and claimed that a “young Black Muslim single mother” was attacked by private security, leaving her with bruises, a black eye and injuries to her leg.
“She needs an estimated $5,000 to pay for medical bills, legal fees, a new phone and more,” the page said.
Minneapolis police said they had received no reports that Osman had been attacked in 2020. The last contact the department had with Osman was in 2012 for public lewdness and disorderly conduct.
Osman posted a video on TikTok saying she sent police more than 20 emails and no longer felt “safe” in Houston
The 33-year-old has an extensive criminal history with previous charges in the Virgin Islands, Minnesota and Texas. She is currently out on bail for assault and domestic violence charges
Since going viral, Osman’s social media accounts have been repeatedly reported and deleted.
On Monday, the 33-year-old posted a video to her latest TikTok account with the caption, “Help me hold the Houston Police Department accountable.”
In the video, she claims she sent Houston police more than 20 emails.
“I literally did all the work for them,” she said. “I also gave them a confession video where Olan Douglas not only says he attacked me, but that he doesn’t care.”
Instead of responding to her, she continued, “they’re responding to pick-knife and redpill losers” — a reference to Internet users who accused her of fraud — “who have nothing to do with this case.”
“They want all gender-oppressed people to know that if you ever speak out, you will be punished and you will be punished severely.”
Osman became increasingly frantic as the video came to an end.
Almost on the verge of tears, she added, “I’m tired. And I’m scared. And I just don’t feel safe.
“Maybe I should figure out where I’m going to live because I don’t think I can live in Houston any longer.”
Court records show the 33-year-old has previously been charged in the Virgin Islands, Minnesota and Texas. She is currently out on bail for assault and domestic violence charges.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has asked the court to set a $50,000 bond on the latest theft charge.
Osman agreed to surrender to police on Thursday afternoon, but failed to show up by the agreed deadline. At the time of writing, she has not yet been arrested.