Two Georgia men have been sentenced to decades in prison for stealing $362,844 worth of merchandise from Walmart stores in 11 states. Anthony Belser, 56, received 25 years with the first 10 to be served in prison, and George Mayo, 52, received 40 years with the first 20 to be served in prison, according to Cherokee County’s Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.
The thefts targeted Walmart stores in Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia over a 10-month span dating back to 2022, prosecutors said.
Canton police were called to the Walmart on Riverstone Parkway in December 2022. Security footage showed two men removing about $15,000 worth of electronics from display cases. Hours later, the suspects were seen stealing from a Walmart in East Ellijay. Mayo was arrested there. Belser ran away.
Investigators pieced together the thefts using security footage, credit card transactions, bank records and rental car contracts.
Prosecutors said the two had a system: hide merchandise inside a larger item like a laundry basket, put the hidden merchandise into a retail box they had emptied, and pay for the lower-value box.
Belser was arrested in New York in January 2024. In April 2025, he pleaded guilty to violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act and organized retail theft.
A lookout notice was issued for Mayo in January 2025. In March 2026, an Atlantic Station security officer spotted Mayo, leading to his arrest.
Mayo pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the RICO Act and organized retail theft on Sept. 10.
“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,” District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said. “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.”
The pair have been ordered to pay $328,448 in restitution.
