CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Two men have been sentenced to prison after a Cherokee County investigation uncovered a theft scheme involving more than $360,000 in Walmart merchandise across Georgia and several other states.
According to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Anthony Lamar Belser, 56, was sentenced to 25 years, with 10 years in prison and George Frank Mayo, 52, was sentenced to 40 years and 20 years in prison.
The investigation began after a December 2022 theft at the Walmart on Riverstone Parkway in Canton.
Officials say nearly $15,000 worth of electronics were stolen from secured display cases.
Investigators eventually linked Belser and Mayo to 51 felony shoplifting incidents in 11 states between August 2022 and June 2023. Officials say the stolen merchandise was worth $362,844.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the men used a method designed to make stolen merchandise appear legitimate at checkout.
Belser and Mayo are accused of placing smaller, high-value items inside larger products, then moving the merchandise into boxes they had emptied.
The boxes were sealed and taken to checkout, where the men paid for the single item on the outside, investigators said.
“What initially appeared to be a single shoplifting incident ultimately exposed a larger criminal operation,” Assistant District Attorney Rachel Murphy said. “These defendants repeatedly used the same calculated scheme across multiple states to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise.”
A Cherokee County grand jury indicted both men in July 2023, officials said.
Belser was arrested in New York in January 2024 and pleaded guilty to violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and organized retail theft in April 2025, according to officials.
Officials say an Atlantic Station security officer spotted Mayo in March 2026, leading to his arrest by Atlanta police. Mayo later pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the RICO Act and organized retail theft on Sept. 10.
The men were ordered to pay $328,448 in restitution.
Superior Court Judge Tony Baker also barred them from entering Georgia, except for one county.
“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. The sentences imposed in this case reflect the seriousness with which we approach these criminal enterprises, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute organized retail crime in Cherokee County.”
