A Miami Beach taxi driver is facing kidnapping and fraud charges after police say he targeted intoxicated clubgoers, stole their phones, and used the devices to drain their bank accounts. Reynoso Osias, 48, was taken into custody early Tuesday, months after investigators say he picked up a visibly drunk passenger who never asked for a ride.
Osias was arrested on eight charges including kidnapping and organized scheme to defraud, according to NBC6 South Florida. Miami Beach robbery detectives located and arrested him on September 29 in the 700 block of Washington Avenue without incident, per Univision 23. His arrest, first reported locally by WSVN 7News, caps a monthslong investigation into a driver police say used his cab as a hunting ground.
A Night Out Turns Into a Missing Phone and a Mystery Ride
The case traces back to June 28, when a victim told police he had been at a club on Washington Avenue and became intoxicated, possibly after being drugged, the same NBC6 South Florida report states. He later realized his phone was gone and had no memory of how he ended up where he was.
The man said he hadn't called for or hailed a taxi and didn't recall entering it, according to the station's report. He was eventually found by officers after being dropped off in a random area on 15th Street, far from where he lived. Police allege Osias targeted the victim and lured him into the taxi, restraining him as he drove him around with the intent to steal his cellphone and commit fraud, per the same account.
Detectives Track a Cab Through Surveillance and Traffic Stops
Investigators pieced together Osias's identity through a mix of city surveillance video, body-camera footage and phone records, according to Univision 23. Detectives said they found a pattern of cellphone thefts in Miami Beach's entertainment district followed by fraudulent transactions, the article notes.
Surveillance footage reportedly captured Osias's taxi circling the entertainment district and idling outside a club for multiple hours without ever picking up a fare, the station's report states. Police said they believe there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
Eight iPhones Found Hidden Under the Driver's Seat
When Osias was taken into custody, detectives said they found eight iPhones stashed in a plastic bag underneath the driver's seat of his taxi. The cache suggested the June 28 incident was not an isolated one, and that a similar pattern may have played out with other passengers over time.
Osias faces felony charges including kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery with violence, organized fraud, computer-system offenses and unlawful use of a communication device, per the same Univision 23 account. Under Florida Statute 787.01, kidnapping is defined as forcibly, secretly or by threat confining, abducting or imprisoning another person against their will and without lawful authority, and is classified as a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, according to Florida Statutes.
A Broader Pattern Along Washington Avenue
Osias's case is not the only one investigators have linked to Miami Beach's nightlife corridor. A separate June 14 incident began after a violent robbery near 11th Street and Washington Avenue, according to Univision 23's reporting. In that case, a woman allegedly went through a clubgoer's pockets, stole his phone, unlocked it using facial recognition and fled in a taxi.
Multiple fraudulent transactions followed in that case, including purchases at a Target store, per NBC6 South Florida. Florida's organized fraud statute defines a scheme to defraud as a systematic, ongoing course of conduct intended to defraud people or obtain property through false pretenses, and classifies such offenses as a third-degree felony when the property taken is valued under $20,000, according to Florida Statutes.
Police have not disclosed how many victims may ultimately be connected to Osias's case, saying only that there could be more people affected. The investigation remains open as detectives continue examining the recovered phones and financial records tied to the fraudulent transactions.
