A FLORIDA teacher is now facing felony charges after allegedly stealing more than $3,000 worth of products from Walmart over several months by using the retailer’s self-checkout machines. 

The man attempted to make restitution directly with the major retailer, however, Walmart intends to pursue prosecution over the alleged theft. 

Anthony Zaksewicz, 45, turned himself in to police on December 5, according to Flagler County court records reviewed by The U.S. Sun. 

Zaksewicz, of Palm Coast, Florida, has been charged with grand theft and felony retail theft connected to a string of alleged shoplifting incidents that occurred between May and October of this year. 

Zaksewicz is a history teacher at Matanzas High School, where he was honored with a state award last year, according to FlaglerLive.com. 

He has reportedly taught in schools in Flagler County for around 17 years. 

Court documents claim Zaksewicz stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from the Cypress Point Parkway Walmart in Palm Coast – about an hour south of Jacksonville.

The suspicious transactions were first investigated by Walmart Asset Protection Investigators, who claim they found “multiple larcenies involving the same suspect who used their debit card to complete their purchase,” according to the charging affidavit. 

In their investigation, Walmart identified Zaksewicz as the suspect. 

The retail giant claimed the Florida man was using tactics such as “ticket-switching” and “skip-scanned” to steal the items. 

Ticket-switching is when shoplifters will scan the bar-codes of inexpensive items to under-charge the actual merchandise being scanned. 

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Meanwhile skip-scanned is simply when a thief will make it appear as though an item was scanned even though it was not. 

Walmart claimed they found at least 40 instances of the suspect using ticket-switching and skip-scanning, which ultimately cost the retailer $3,178.61. 

Through surveillance video, investigators found evidence of the suspect using these shoplifting tactics at the self-checkout machines dozens of times.

Additionally, he has been accused of missing weight reads on certain produce items and unlawfully using “an inventory control device countermeasure device.” 

While many of the shoplifting instances amounted to losses of less than $100, there are at least three separate 30-day periods in which Zaksewicz has been accused of stealing over $750.

Specifically, the Florida man has been accused of stealing $790.99 worth in items from June 11 to July 8, $829.63 worth of products between July 22 to August 20 as well as $891.27 worth of merchandise between August 26 and September 24. 

Based on their evidence, Walmart’s Asset Protection Investigators have claimed these incidents were “quite purposeful to commit theft.” 

When approached with the pending charges in October, Zaksewicz supposedly asked officials if he could contact Walmart to “arrange to make financial restitution to them in lieu of prosecution,” according to court documents. 

However, the retail giant informed police that the Palm Coast man had already called Walmart “saying he made a mistake.” 

While he again offered to make restitution, Walmart informed Zaksewicz that the company desired to “prosecute for all crimes committed,” according to the affidavit. 

Zaksewicz is expected to be arraigned on January 29, 2024. 

He pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Between 2007 and 2014, Zaksewicz has also faced several civil charges for speeding and careless driving, according to Flagler County court records reviewed by The U.S. Sun.