By: Richard L. Smith
A former TD Bank employee has admitted that he helped a criminal network move hundreds of millions of dollars through bank accounts while working inside a Manhattan branch, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors said Wilfredo Aquino, 47, of New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to launder monetary instruments.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.
According to court documents, Aquino was working as an assistant store manager for TD Bank beginning in 2019 when he began assisting a large-scale money laundering network led by Da Ying Sze — also known as “David.” Investigators said the organization deposited massive amounts of cash into TD Bank accounts at locations in New York, New Jersey, and other states, ultimately moving roughly $474 million through the banking system.
Prosecutors said Aquino processed more transactions for the network at his Midtown Manhattan branch than any other employee at that location, including approximately 1,680 official bank checks totaling more than $92 million.
Many of the deposits exceeded $10,000 and legally required the bank to file currency transaction reports, but Aquino failed to identify Sze as the person conducting the transactions — a step authorities say helped conceal the activity.
Officials also noted that TD Bank had previously closed accounts linked to Sze for suspicious behavior, and that a coworker had warned Aquino that the deposits “looked like money laundering.” Despite that, investigators said Aquino continued to assist the network and even facilitated nearly $2 million in additional cash transactions in early 2021 without properly reporting them.
In exchange for his cooperation, Aquino accepted more than $11,000 in retail gift cards from members of the organization, prosecutors said.
Sze previously pleaded guilty in 2022 to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and bribing bank employees.
The money-laundering conspiracy charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of either $500,000 or twice the value of the criminal proceeds.