Miami Beach Taxi Driver Arrested in Phone Theft Scheme

A taxi driver faces multiple charges for allegedly targeting intoxicated clubgoers in Miami Beach, stealing their phones and using them for fraudulent transactions. Reynoso Osias, 48, was arrested Tuesday on charges including kidnapping, organized scheme to defraud, offenses against computer users, unlawful use of a communications device, and strongarm robbery conspiracy.

The arrest follows an investigation into a pattern of cell phone thefts in Miami Beach's entertainment district, which were then followed by fraudulent transactions. Police believe Osias served as the getaway driver for a female accomplice who befriended victims outside clubs.

In one instance on June 14, a victim left a Washington Avenue club and was approached by a woman. The intoxicated victim recalled the woman grabbing his phone and running off. Surveillance video showed the woman entering a taxi. Minutes later, the same taxi was seen on 13th Street, where the woman exited, took another intoxicated man's phone outside a bar, unlocked it using his face, and fled in the taxi. Multiple fraudulent transactions, including at a Target store, were later made with the stolen phone.

Another incident on June 28 involved a victim at a Washington Avenue club who reported becoming intoxicated and possibly drugged. He later discovered his phone was stolen and multiple fraudulent transactions, including bank transfers, had occurred. Security footage showed the victim outside the club before entering an uncalled-for taxi. Officers later dropped the man off on 15th Street. A license plate reader captured the taxi's tag, which had been stopped twice recently while driven by Osias.

Investigators believe Osias lured victims into the taxi to steal their devices for fraud, constituting kidnapping and part of a systematic scheme to defraud. Osias, a resident of Miami Gardens, was booked into the county jail. During his arrest, officers found eight iPhones in a plastic bag hidden under the driver's seat of his taxi.