Wilfredo Aquinoa former employee of New York-based TD Bank NA, pleaded guilty to facilitating the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars by a money laundering ring through TD Bank accounts, The Department of Justice reported in a statement.
“The defendant took advantage of his position at TD Bank and facilitated the criminal activity of a money laundering ring that moved hundreds of millions of dollars through the bank’s accounts,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“During the illicit plan, the defendant evaded reporting requirements to conceal identity of money laundering ring leader. “The Criminal Division is fully committed to the eradication of money laundering networks and their facilitators, who exploit the security and stability of our country’s banking system,” he added.
“Aquino helped criminals launder money from within TD Bank”said lead attorney Philip Lamparello, of the Criminal and Special Prosecutions Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Bank employees are the first line of defense against money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes.
Hundreds of millions of dollars moved
“Wilfredo Aquino’s position at TD Bank required him to report suspicious customer activity and adhere to strict anti-money laundering regulations,” said Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of the IRS Criminal Investigation Service (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office.
“Instead, he turned a blind eye to law enforcement and prioritized his personal enrichment. “IRS-CI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate individuals who take advantage of our financial system through criminal activity,” he added.
Aquino, 47, of New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. His sentencing is scheduled for May 12..
According to court documents, from 2019 to February 2021, Aquino, then an assistant store manager at TD Bank, took advantage of her position to facilitate the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars by a money laundering ring through TD Bank accounts.
During that time, the leader of the network, Da Ying Szeknown as David, and his accomplices, moved approximately $474 million through TD Bank accountsdepositing cash at TD Bank stores in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere.
In February 2022, Da Ying Sze pleaded guilty to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transfer business, and bribing bank employees in connection with financial transactions.
He accepted bribes of up to $11,000.
While the network used several TD Bank stores to conduct its money laundering activities, Most of the money was laundered through Aquino’s store in Midtown Manhattan.. No one processed more transactions for David’s Network at the Midtown Manhattan store than Aquino.
During David’s money laundering process, Aquino processed approximately 1,680 official bank checks for David’s Network, totaling more than $92 million. Almost all of these bank checks were funded with a corresponding cash deposit greater than $10,000, requiring TD Bank to file a foreign exchange transaction report (CTR).
Although Aquino knew that David made these deposits, he never identified him as the “driver” in the CTR. Aquino also knew that TD Bank had closed other accounts linked to David for suspicious activity; a colleague even warned him that David’s activity “looked like money laundering.”.
In February 2021, Aquino facilitated three money laundering transactions from David, totaling nearly $2 million in cash, into a third-party account. He did not report David as the driver of the transaction, thus hiding his participation in the money laundering process. Aquino accepted numerous gift cards from David totaling more than $11,000 dollars in exchange for facilitating this scheme, including the three transactions carried out in February 2021.
The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the crime, whichever is greater.
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