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Miami Beach taxi driver arrested after alleged theft of intoxicated passenger’s phone and subsequent fraudulent transfers
Miami Beach police arrested a taxi driver after detectives say he stole a passenger’s cellphone in Miami Beach and used it to make fraudulent bank transfers. The arrest followed an incident the department links to June 28, 2026, when the victim realized his Samsung Galaxy S24 was missing and reported unauthorized transactions tied to the device. According to the police report, surveillance footage showed the visibly intoxicated man on Washington Avenue early that morning using his phone before a taxi identified as Springs Cab No. 3319 pulled up. The cab’s rear passenger door opened from the inside and the victim was recorded entering the vehicle; the victim later told detectives he did not recall hailing or riding in the taxi and believed he may have been drugged. About 30 minutes later officers found the intoxicated man in the 15th Street searching for his phone. Detectives used license-plate-reader records, prior traffic-stop records and body-worn camera footage to identify Reynoso Osias, 48, as the taxi driver. Records allegedly linked Osias to the stolen phone through the fraudulent transactions. Investigators located Osias driving the same taxi and arrested him; a search of the vehicle allegedly produced a bag containing eight iPhones beneath the driver’s seat. Miami Beach robbery detectives charged Osias with kidnapping and organized scheme to defraud; he remains in custody as the city’s investigation and charges are processed, according to the department’s arrest report. All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.