A Louisville pastor pleaded guilty after wallets were stolen from three women in their 70s and 80s while they shopped at local grocery stores.
Prosecutors said Virgil Mozee and another man took the wallets at Kroger and Meijer locations before traveling to nearby Walgreens stores with the stolen credit cards.
The cards were used or presented for transactions within approximately an hour of the thefts. Police connected the three charged incidents to $5,013.92 in unauthorized purchases, much of it involving gift cards.
The Women Were Shopping When Their Wallets Disappeared
The thefts occurred at Louisville stores during September 2025, according to The Courier Journal. Surveillance footage showed Mozee and Nathaniel Porter III walking through the grocery stores while pushing shopping carts and appearing to browse for merchandise.
Police said the men watched for older women whose wallets were accessible inside purses or shopping carts. They would allegedly remove the wallets while the shoppers were distracted and leave the stores without making purchases of their own.
The charged incidents occurred over approximately two weeks. Earlier police reporting identified Kroger and Meijer among the stores where the women were approached.
The Stolen Cards Were Used Within About an Hour
After leaving the grocery stores, Mozee and Porter allegedly traveled to nearby Walgreens locations and used or attempted to use the stolen cards. Investigators said the men changed clothes between the wallet thefts and the card transactions.
They also sometimes attempted to make it appear that they were shopping separately. The purchases primarily involved gift cards, according to court records.
Surveillance footage from the grocery stores and Walgreens locations allowed investigators to compare the suspects’ clothing, movements and timing across the two stages of the operation.
One victim discovered 10 unauthorized transactions totaling $3,790.05 after her wallet was taken. Across the three women identified in the charged cases, police reported $5,013.92 in fraudulent card activity.
Mozee Pleaded Guilty to Six Counts
Mozee pleaded guilty on July 23, 2026, to three counts of theft by unlawful taking and three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.
He faces a maximum of five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 28, when the court can also address any restitution obligation and other conditions.
Porter pleaded not guilty and is expected to take his case to trial. The allegations against him remain unresolved unless established through a guilty plea or verdict.
A Missing Wallet Should Be Reported Before Charges Appear
Someone who notices that a wallet or card is missing can immediately lock the card through the issuer’s official app, then call the number shown in the app, on a previous statement or on the bank’s website. The card should be reported as lost or stolen rather than waiting for an unauthorized purchase to appear.
The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers to report lost cards and unfamiliar transactions immediately. Legal protections differ for credit and debit cards, and waiting to report a missing debit card can increase the amount the account holder may be responsible for.
After contacting the issuer, the cardholder should save screenshots of pending charges and record the merchant, amount and transaction time. Those details can help police obtain surveillance footage before a store’s recordings are overwritten. A police report can still be useful when the bank reverses the charges.
If a driver’s license, Social Security card, checks or other identifying documents were also inside the wallet, the victim can report the identity theft through IdentityTheft.gov and consider placing free credit freezes with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.