A former employee of Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank based in New York has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the transfer of nearly $100 million dollars for a money-laundering syndicate through the bank’s accounts.
The charge represents the most recent development in an investigation by U.S. authorities into a scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars in drug-related funds.
Former Midtown Manhattan branch assistant manager Wilfredo Aquino, 47, pleaded guilty this week to participation in the money laundering operation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Jan. 6 press release.
Aquino assisted the head of the network by laundering most of its funds from 2019 until February 2021 at the TD branch where he was employed, according to court filings.
Aquino processed roughly 1,680 official bank cheques for the network run by Da Ying Sze, also known as David. Nearly all of the cheques exceeded US$10,000 and came to more than US$92 million, the court heard. The size of the cheques meant the bank was required to file a currency transaction report (CTR), an anti-money laundering tool used by U.S. financial institutions to detect illicit financial activities like money laundering.
Aquino was aware that Sze was making these cash deposits, yet he never referred to Sze as the “conductor” on the CTR, according to the DOJ release. Aquino also knew that TD Bank had closed other accounts associated with Sze due to suspicious activities, and one colleague had even cautioned Aquino that Sze’s actions resembled money laundering.
Aquino facilitated three of Sze’s money laundering transactions in February 2021 that totalled nearly $2 million, which was deposited into a third party’s account. He neglected to disclose Sze as the individual responsible for the transaction, thereby hiding Sze’s involvement in the money laundering operation.
Aquino was compensated with more than $11,000 in retail gift cards for his role in the scheme.
“Wilfredo Aquino’s position at TD Bank required him to report suspicious customer activity and adhere to robust anti-money laundering regulations,” said IRS criminal investigation special agent Jenifer L. Piovesan in the release. “Instead, he turned a blind eye to complying with the law and prioritized enriching himself.”
Aquino is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.
Sze pleaded guilty in 2022 to co-ordinating a US$653 million money laundering conspiracy, primarily conducted through the bank’s New York branches over a span of three years.
TD entered a guilty plea in October 2024 on multiple charges associated with deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program and agreed to pay fines totalling roughly US$3 billion.
The bank has said it is implementing a comprehensive strategy to bolster its anti-money laundering program.
