'Brick lady' charged in Houston for alleged false claims
HOUSTON - A woman is facing felony theft by deception charges after collecting over $40,000 through a GoFundMe account over an alleged false claim. Roda Ossman, 33, is accused of falsely claiming she was hit with a brick after not giving a man her number in southwest Houston on September 3. The incident went viral after she took to her Instagram Live to share what happened.,
Houston police responded to reports of an aggravated assault at 5115 Schumacher Lane. Police say Osman was visibly under the influence and irate after a night out with a friend.
ORIGINAL STORY: Woman hit in face with brick in Houston, says man attacked her for not giving him her number
In the original report, Osman said she was walking, and an unknown man hit her with a brick. This was after she refused to give him her number when he asked for it. She also told police that she ordered an Uber and thought the driver was trying to kidnap her when she got into the car with him.
Authorities later obtained footage showing Osman engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with a man. A court document states that she hit the man in the face with an unknown object following a verbal argument outside a lounge. After that, he hit her in the face with what appeared to be a water bottle. The man then left the scene with another man. The whole ordeal was caught on a surveillance camera nearby, which differs from Osman's initial claim of being attacked by a stranger.
This account became viral on social media as Osman posted live on Instagram, garnering thousands of views. The situation was further complicated by Osman's GoFundMe account, which collected $42,302 by falsely claiming she had been assaulted for refusing to share her phone number.
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The investigation also uncovered a concerning pattern. A mental health advocate cited a similar incident involving Osman in Minneapolis in 2020. In this incident, she allegedly fabricated a story about being assaulted by a black man. This led to another GoFundMe account.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Osman based on the evidence gathered.