Secret Santa in Ohio pays off more than $100K in layaway gifts

CLEVELAND, OH (KTRK) -- More than 200 Ohio residents with layaway items at two Cleveland-area Walmart stores are getting an early Christmas surprise: their items are already paid.

KGTV reports someone went to both stores and paid for everyone's items -- $107,000 worth of goods -- from a pair of socks to a 70-inch television. The anonymous Secret Santa made the store promise to keep his identity secret.

Mom of four, Tara Neal, said she had only paid off $10 on a "Frozen" bed for her 3-year-old. She called the payment a "blessing." She said, "It's like Santa, like a real Santa to me."

Customer Cathie Cromwell, who learned her layaway items were paid via phone, said the generosity moved her to tears. "I just cried," she said. "It's amazing someone would have this much compassion during the Christmas season to help us. To help people who maybe wouldn't have had Christmas."