Gheorge-Ciprian Hilitanu has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in an organized credit card skimming operation that targeted CVS and Walgreens customers across North Texas. This announcement was made by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
Hilitanu, along with co-defendants Victor Tecu and Ionut Firan-Alexandrau, pleaded guilty to multiple felonies related to the scheme that stole financial information from at least 783 victims in July 2025. The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center led the investigation, which revealed that the defendants used hidden skimming devices on payment terminals to capture debit and credit card data.
Following their arrests, law enforcement recovered over 150 skimming devices, 237 re-encoded gift cards, and various fraudulent identification documents from an Airbnb where the group was staying.
On June 25, 2026, Hilitanu was sentenced by Judge Lela Mayes, while Tecu and Firan-Alexandrau received 20-year sentences after pleading guilty on June 29. Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot stated that these financial crimes impact everyday individuals, highlighting the serious consequences of organized financial crime. The district attorney's office also offered tips for consumers to protect themselves from skimming incidents.
