Tierra Young Allen, a Texas woman who is detained in the United Arab Emirates after being accused of screaming in public, may be the victim of an intricate scheme that often takes place in the country, Insider reports.

For more than two months, Allen, a popular social media influencer known as Sassy Trucker on TikTok, has been in custody in Dubai for allegedly violating “a broadly-defined law that criminalizes things like swearing, rudeness, and insulting gestures” after being involved in a car accident with her friend from Nigeria.

When Allen arrived at the rental car company’s location (The US consulate in Dubai advised the family not to publicize the name of the company)  to claim her items, she was asked to pay thousands of dollars to retrieve the rest of her belongings, and the store associate began to yell at her. After responding by screaming back at the associate, law enforcement was called, and she was arrested.

Tina Baxter, Allen’s mother, said that her daughter was detained when it was discovered that she was an American.

"She didn't get arrested for the accident. She got arrested for going to the rental car company, asking for her items that were left in the car when they opened the case," Baxter said. "She became the main target when they realized she was a US citizen."

"People just think she's just some screaming monster when she's a very soft-spoken young lady," Baxter added. "She was only pushed to the edge to respond back after she was afraid and being extorted for money and misled."

Radha Stirling, who leads Detained in Dubai, a human rights advocacy organization based in the U.K. that offers legal assistance to foreigners in the UAE, said that Allen's case is one that he is all too familiar with.

"I just had three Americans in the past couple of months who said they were in pretty much the same situation," Stirling explained. "They ended up paying $20,000 that they didn't owe to a rental car company just to get their passports back so they could go home."

Stirling reiterated that Allen has been charged and is not permitted to leave the country. Also, she doesn't have her passport, which is believed to be in police custody. Currently, Allen is occupying her Airbnb and communicating with her mother on a replacement phone.

Baxter said that she almost established a GoFundMe account to raise money for Allen’s legal fees until Stirling said that it could backfire.

“In a sense, doing that perpetuates this common issue, perpetuates the extortion scam that is so prevalent in the UAE," Stirling said.

With his experience in international legal matters, Stirling said that Allen could face jail time if she’s prosecuted and found guilty of the charges.

"If the police choose to prosecute, that can take in itself four months, six months, maybe even longer, just until she gets a court date," Stirling said. "In a worst-case scenario, if she was prosecuted and convicted, she could be looking at up to two years in prison."

To garner support for Allen and rectify the situation, the family has reached out to the offices of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sen. Ted Cruz for assistance.

"We're hoping that that's going to transition into ambassadorial help and diplomatic assistance in the UAE and that she should be home soon," Stirling shared.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Cruz’s office said that they are monitoring the situation and are in contact with Allen’s family.

"We have spoken to the family of Tierra Young Allen and have contacted the Department of State about the case," the statement read, "Sen. Cruz will continue to gather details and engage on this case until Ms. Allen is returned home to her family."