Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for Smith County fraud charges

TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – A Romanian national was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to theft and fraud charges in Smith County.

Alin Nistor, 34, pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of debit card information, food stamp fraud and theft of property. According to a release from the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center linked Nistor and his wife to large scale organized crime consisting of Romanian nationals committing fraud across the U.S.

Officials said that Nistor and his wife were stopped by Tyler PD with 345 large cans of baby formula in their car that were “fraudulently obtained and intended for resale.”

Nistor additionally had several Lone Star welfare cards and gift cards, according to a release, that were all fraudulently re-encoded with food stamp card information from California.

“This was a clear instance of organized criminal activity,” Smith County Assistant District Attorney Emil Mikkelsen said. “These individuals are taking money earmarked for struggling mothers and their children and putting it into their own pockets. It is reverse Robin Hood: Take from the poor and give to yourself.”

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