A 95-year-old was grocery shopping at a Cub Foods in White Bear Township last June when a woman she didn’t know walked up to her cart and struck up a conversation.
Soon after, the elderly woman realized her wallet, which moments before was inside her shopping cart, was gone.
Authorities say Zetta Listice Mallett stole it as part of a months-long theft spree across the metro area last summer, according to charges filed against her via warrant in Ramsey County District Court.
Mallett, 54, of St. Paul, faces 10 felony counts of credit card theft.
Her scheme involved targeting elderly women as they shopped at Cub and Walmart locations, according to the charges.
Mallett or her accomplice — another woman who has not been charged — approached shoppers and made small talk, the complaint said.
Once distracted, they stole their wallets and subsequently used their credit cards to make more than $12,000 in fraudulent purchases, authorities say.
Mallett, who often donned a wig during the thefts, was arrested last July after investigators used surveillance video from several of the stores to identify her, the complaint said.
She declined to speak to investigators about the allegations.
Mallett’s criminal history includes several convictions for credit card theft, as well as identity fraud and assault.
She could not be reached for comment and no attorney was listed for her in court records.