The Brief
- Three Romanian nationals received prison terms of 20 to 30 years for running a sophisticated credit card skimming ring across the DFW metroplex.
- The group installed hidden skimmers on payment terminals at CVS and Walgreens stores, stealing the financial data of nearly 800 North Texas shoppers.
- Investigators raided the group’s Airbnb, seizing card-making equipment, 150 skimming devices, and over 230 re-encoded cards loaded with stolen data.
DALLAS – Three members of a sophisticated, organized credit card skimming ring have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for stealing the financial information of nearly 800 North Texas shoppers, prosecutors announced Monday.
Credit Card Skimming Sentences
The defendants, Gheorge-Ciprian Hilitanu, Victor Tecu, and Ionut Firan-Alexandrau, pleaded guilty to multiple felony offenses after targeting customers at CVS and Walgreens stores throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in July 2025.
The backstory:
Authorities said the group installed hidden electronic skimming devices on retail payment terminals to secretly capture debit and credit card data from magnetic strips. Criminals use the stolen data to clone cards or make unauthorized purchases.…