Former TD Bank employee pleads guilty to laundering $4.8 million to Colombia

Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, pleaded guilty to a two-count information: conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and receipt of bribes by a bank employee. The Justice Department announced the plea on October 6, 2026. The case was prosecuted by the DOJ Criminal Division and the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

According to the DOJ, from April 2022 to November 2023 Aquino opened fraudulent accounts, issued hundreds of debit cards to co-conspirators, and unblocked cards that TD Bank had restricted for possible fraud. The DOJ says these accounts and cards were used to move about $4.8 million out of the US.

The DOJ says Aquino opened 86 individual customer accounts that all used the same commercial address in Miami, and that those accounts alone moved more than $3 million to Colombia. In return, he received more than $8,000 in bribes, paid in cash and through a peer-to-peer payment app.

Money laundering conspiracy carries up to 20 years in prison, and bribe receipt by a bank employee carries up to 30 years. Sentencing is set for March 23, 2027. The Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General investigated the case.