Gheorge-Ciprian Hilitanu, a member of a credit card skimming ring, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison following his guilty plea to multiple felonies. The scheme, which targeted CVS and Walgreens customers across North Texas in July 2025, affected at least 783 victims, according to the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
Hilitanu, along with co-defendants Victor Tecu and Ionut Firan-Alexandrau, was involved in a sophisticated operation that utilized hidden skimming devices on payment terminals to capture customers' debit and credit card information. Authorities discovered evidence of their large-scale criminal activity after executing a search warrant at an Airbnb, where they found over 150 skimming devices, 237 re-encoded gift cards, and equipment for creating counterfeit cards.
On June 25, 2026, Hilitanu was sentenced by Judge Lela Mayes for engaging in organized criminal activity, among other charges. Tecu and Firan-Alexandrau received 20-year sentences after pleading guilty on June 29. Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot emphasized the impact of financial crimes on everyday individuals and noted that the sentences reflect the serious harm caused by such activities. The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center led the investigation into the ring's operations.
