St. Peter woman accused of racking up purchases with stolen card

A St. Peter woman is accused of stealing a financial transaction card and using it to make over $500 worth of purchases at a Mankato department store.

Gretchen Anna Mathwig, 41, is charged with three felony counts and three gross misdemeanor counts of financial transaction card fraud.

According to the charges, surveillance footage captured Mathwig using a financial transaction card which did not belong to her at a gas station and two grocery stores in St. Peter and a department store in Mankato on Feb. 19, 2024.

The owner of the card reported the activity to the St. Peter Police Department on Feb. 23. They told law enforcement they lost their card on Feb. 19 after using it at an ATM in a gas station. Shortly after losing their card, the owner detected four unauthorized purchases made that same day.

The largest of these purchases was a $539.36 transaction made at a Mankato department store. Mathwig is also accused of using the card to spend $46 at a St. Peter gas station, $23 at a St. Peter grocery store and $9.70 at a second St. Peter grocery store.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety reached out to Mathwig by telephone for a statement after reviewing the surveillance footage from the department store. Mathwig declined to give a statement, but said she spoke to the St. Peter Police Department and felt bad for “doing it.”