CANTON, Ga. — A theft at a Cherokee County Walmart led investigators to uncover what prosecutors say was a sophisticated retail crime operation that stretched across 11 states and resulted in the theft of more than $360,000 worth of merchandise.
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The Office of the District Attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit announced Thursday that Anthony Lamar Belser, 56, and George Frank Mayo, 52, have been convicted on charges related to the scheme.
According to prosecutors, Belser and Mayo stole $362,844 worth of merchandise from Walmart stores in Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia over 10 months beginning in August 2022.
Officials say the case began on Dec. 3, 2022, when Canton police responded to a theft of nearly $15,000 worth of electronics from the Walmart on Riverstone Parkway.
Security footage showed two men removing items from secured display cases around 7:30 a.m., authorities said. Later that day, suspects matching their descriptions and driving the same rental vehicle were connected to another theft at a Walmart in East Ellijay.
Mayo was arrested in East Ellijay, while Belser escaped, according to authorities.
Working with Walmart Asset Protection, authorities reviewed surveillance video, credit card transactions, bank records and rental car contracts. Authorities ultimately linked the pair to 51 felony shoplifting incidents between August 2022 and June 2023, including the Canton and East Ellijay cases.
Authorities said the men used a consistent method to carry out the thefts. Investigators said they hid small, high-value items inside larger products such as laundry baskets, then transferred the items into empty retail boxes, sealed the packages and purchased the single boxed item at checkout while stealing the hidden merchandise inside.
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“What initially appeared to be a single shoplifting incident ultimately exposed a larger criminal operation,” Assistant District Attorney Rachel Murphy said in a statement.
“These defendants repeatedly used the same calculated scheme across multiple states to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise. The collaboration between law enforcement and retail partners was critical to dismantling this criminal enterprise, and we remain committed to working closely with them to combat organized retail crime.”
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A Cherokee County grand jury indicted the men in July 2023.
Belser was arrested in New York during a traffic stop in January 2024. He later pleaded guilty to violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act and organized retail theft.
Mayo remained at large until March 2026, when an Atlantic Station security officer spotted him after a statewide “be on the lookout” alert had been shared with law enforcement agencies and retailers. Atlanta police took him into custody, and he later pleaded guilty to two RICO counts and organized retail theft.
Both men were ordered to pay $328,448 in restitution. A judge also barred them from entering most of Georgia following their release.
“Organized retail crime continues to be a problem not only in Cherokee County, but across the country,” District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said. “Georgia’s RICO Act gives us a powerful tool to hold offenders accountable for the full scope of their criminal conduct, rather than treating each theft as an isolated offense.”
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