A former TD Bank manager in New York has pled guilty for his role in facilitating money laundering activity at the bank.
Wilfredo Aquino, an assistant manager for a branch of TD Bank N.A in New York, pled guilty to a charge of conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
According to court filings, from 2019 through February 2021, Aquino helped to facilitate a money laundering network that allegedly moved hundreds of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts.
While that network used a number of TD branches, Aquino allegedly processed transactions worth US$92 million in his mid-town Manhattan branch, which was the money laundering ring’s most-used venue. In return, he received approximately US$11,000 worth of retail gift cards for facilitating the activity.
In 2022, the alleged leader of the ring, Da Ying Sze, pled guilty to orchestrating a US$653-million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and bribing bank employees.
“Aquino helped criminals launder money from inside TD Bank,” said Philip Lamparello, senior counsel for the criminal and special prosecutions division of the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of New Jersey, in a release Tuesday.
“Bank employees are the first line of defence against money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes,” he added.
Aquino is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.