Romanian national given 12 years for fraud and theft

SMITH COUNTY – Romanian national Alin Nistor was given 12 years in prison on three separate charges of fraudulent use of debit card information, food stamp fraud, and theft of property. He was sentenced by Judge Reeve Jackson in the 114th District Court on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Nistor and his wife were identified by the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center to be connected to a large organized crime ring of other Romanian nationals committing fraud across the country. According to a release and an investigation headed by the Tyler Police Department, a traffic stop resulted in officials finding “345 large cans of baby formula in their car” with the intent to resell and several Lone Star welfare cards and gift cards that had modified information from California residents. Evidence was also presented of Nistor’s wife stealing over $5,000 worth of printer ink cartridges from a Walmart weeks prior.