Man charged in multi-county Walmart credit card fraud case, police say

A Philadelphia man has been charged in connection with a string of credit card fraud incidents across multiple Pennsylvania counties, including one at the Walmart in Warrington Township, after police said he used a stolen debit card to make purchases at several stores in April.

Messihia Manning, 36, of the 1500 block of North 55^th Street, Philadelphia, was charged Sept. 30 by Warrington detectives with five felony counts each of access device fraud and theft by unlawful taking.

According to the criminal complaint, police opened the investigation after receiving a CrimeWatch tip from the Oregon State Police, where a woman reported that her Oregon State Credit Union Federal Debit Card had been used fraudulently at multiple Pennsylvania stores on April 18, 2025, totaling more than $2,500.

Police said the victim confirmed she did not know anyone in Pennsylvania and had never been to the state.

Investigators tracked fraudulent transactions to five stores:

• Walmart at 4660 Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, where a withdrawal of $1,100 was made from an ATM
• Walmart at 299 Valley Gate Drive in Warrington Township, where eight purchases totaling $649.70 were made
• Dollar Tree at 1380 Easton Road in Warrington, where one purchase of $5 was made
• Walmart at 2101 Blair Mill Road in Willow Grove, where four purchases totaling $327.89 were made
• Walmart at 50 North MacDade Boulevard in Glenolden, where $419.83 in purchases were made.

According to the affidavit, store surveillance video and traffic camera images showed the suspect leaving one of the stores in a white Ford van marked “Tennant,” a company that contracts with Walmart for floor cleaning services.

When police contacted a Tennant regional manager, he confirmed that the vehicle was assigned to Manning on the day of the offenses, according to the complaint. The company also identified Manning from surveillance photos, police said.

Using GPS tracking data from the company van, police placed Manning in the immediate vicinity of each Walmart and Dollar Tree location where the victim’s card was used, police said.

After the final transaction, police said, Manning returned to his Philadelphia residence.

Police obtained authorization letters from Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware counties to consolidate the charges in Bucks County, as the crimes spanned all four jurisdictions, according to the affidavit.

Manning turned himself in to Warrington Township Police on Oct. 1, according to court records. He was processed and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Stacy Wertman, who set bail at $50,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 20 before Wertman. He is represented by Philadelphia attorney Jonathan Altschuler.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.