A former Toronto-Dominion Bank employee in the United States has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and laundering more than US$4.8 million to Colombia while working at the bank. According to court documents, Gerardo Aquino of Hollywood, Fla., was accused of opening fraudulent accounts, issuing hundreds of debit cards to his co-conspirators, and unblocking debit cards that TD had restricted due to potential fraud. The bank accounts and cards were then used to funnel money out of the U.S. Aquino pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information on October 6, with sentencing scheduled for March 23, 2027.
Aquino opened 86 individual customer accounts using the same exact commercial address in Miami, which were used to launder more than US$3 million in illicit funds to Colombia in exchange for more than US$8,000 in bribes, according to Traders Union. The operation ran from April 2022 through November 2023, during which Aquino exploited his position to open fraudulent accounts and bypass the bank's restrictions. As reported by Banking Dive, Aquino issued hundreds of debit cards to co-conspirators and unblocked cards TD Bank had restricted because of potential fraud, effectively helping co-conspirators bypass the bank's fraud prevention systems.
Aquino pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and receiving bribes. According to Justice News, the charges carry statutory maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy and up to 30 years for bank bribery. His sentencing has been set for March 23, 2027. The charges were announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday. Banking Dive reports that co-conspirator Leonardo Ayala accepted more than US$6,000 in bribes and issued over 150 debit cards used for ATM withdrawals in Colombia.
Greg Millard, associate chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration, stated that this guilty plea demonstrates that corrupt financial insiders are just as critical to criminal networks as those who move drugs or incite violence. As reported by Justice News, A. Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said Aquino abused his position of trust at TD Bank and enriched himself in the process.
The case is part of a larger investigation into TD Bank's money laundering activities. In October 2024, TD Bank pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to anti-money-laundering program failures and agreed to pay more than US$3 billion in combined penalties, according to GARP. Federal regulatory findings from late 2024 described failures in TD Bank's anti-money-laundering controls. It remains unclear whether additional co-conspirators in Colombia or Miami face pending indictments, and what specific compliance remedies TD Bank has implemented to prevent retail employees from overriding fraud freezes.
