TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee Lyft driver was arrested after stealing and making $1,000 worth of purchases with the customer's debit card.
Babar Ahmed, 21, was arrested by the Leon County Sheriff's Office on Saturday.
Deputies received a complaint of a stolen debit card from the victim on May 29.
While talking with deputies, the victim stated she hired Ahmed as her Lyft driver on May 19. Known only to her as "Babar," he took the victim back to her house to pick something up.
The victim told officers she left her purse in Ahmed's car while she went inside to get something. She said when she returned, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but stated she also didn't check through her belongings at that point.
Ahmed then drove the victim to her next destination and there were never any other occupants in the car at any point during the rides.
According to the police report, the victim checked her bank account online the next day and noticed several charges she did not recognize.
The victim said she then checked her wallet and noticed her American Express debit card and $60 cash were missing.
She contacted her friends who owned the last business she was at the night before to see if she left her debit card or cash there, but they told her they didn't see any of her belongings.
The victim cancelled her card and the bank reimbursed her the money that was stolen, however she was still out of the $60 cash.
The police report states when she requested another Lyft, she received a standard notification that Ahmed was her last driver.
The victim turned that message over to deputies, which also had a photo of Ahmed on it as well, and through investigative means, deputies were able to determine Ahmed's full name.
She provided deputies with the list of fraudulent charges and they were able to obtain video of Ahmed making purchases at some of the places provided.
The charges at Dillards, one of the places Ahmed made transactions, did not have video due to their system being down.
Ahmed made three purchases at Dillards, all within different departments, but deputies said only two of the three clerks were able to identify Ahmed in a photo line-up, so he won't be charged for all three purchases.
Deputies said the total of Ahmed's purchases at CVS, Super Lube, Walgreens, Target, and Dillards was $1,009.50.
Based on the evidence, Ahmed is being charged with grand theft of $300 or more but less than $5,000, fraudulent use of identification, fraudulent use of credit cards, and petit theft.
He was taken to the Leon County Detention Center, but has since bonded out.
