Published Oct. 6, 2026. A former TD Bank employee pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting bribes and helping move more than $4.8 million in illicit funds from the United States to Colombia, the Justice Department announced.
Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, entered the plea to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and one count of receiving bribes as a bank employee. The case remains at the sentencing stage; a federal judge has not yet imposed punishment.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
According to the Justice Department’s Oct. 6 release, Aquino used his bank position from April 2022 through November 2023 to open fraudulent customer accounts, issue hundreds of debit cards to co-conspirators and unblock cards TD Bank had restricted because of suspected fraud.
Prosecutors said 86 accounts used the same commercial address in Miami and were responsible for moving more than $3 million. In total, the accounts and debit cards were used to funnel approximately $4.8 million out of the country.
Bribes and possible penalties
Aquino received more than $8,000 in bribes paid in cash and through a peer-to-peer payment service, according to court filings described by the department.
The money-laundering conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, while receipt of bribes by a bank employee carries a maximum of 30 years. Maximum penalties are not predictions of the sentence. Aquino is scheduled to be sentenced March 23, 2027, and the judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Bank-insider scrutiny
The investigation involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General. Prosecutors characterized bank insiders as important facilitators for criminal networks because they can bypass controls intended to detect suspicious activity.
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Source
- U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 6, 2026.
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