NJ Bank Employee Helps Thieves Move $4.8M Into Colombia: DOJ

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ — A former TD Bank employee admitted to accepting bribes and helping launder more than $4.8 million to Colombia, the District Attorney's Office for the State of New Jersey said.

Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of conspiring to launder monetary instruments and one count of receipt of bribes by a bank employee.

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From April 2022 to November 2023, he opened fake accounts, issued hundreds of debit cards to co-conspirators, and unblocked debit cards that TD Bank restricted for potential fraud.

These tools were then used to move more than $4.8 million out of the United States and into Colombia.

"Gerardo Aquino abused the position of trust at TD Bank and enriched himself in the process," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva. "Bank insiders who facilitate money laundering and illegal activity for criminal organizations play a critical role for that organization and abuse our financial system."

Aquino created 86 different individual customer accounts with the same commercial address in Miami to launder more than $3 million of the total.

He was paid more than $8,000 in cash and peer-to-peer digital payment bribes for his help.

Aquino was most recently employed as a retail banker with the company and was fired in or around November 2023.

"AML remediation continues to be the bank's top priority, and TD actively cooperated with law enforcement to support their investigation," TD Bank told Patch. "TD has made strong progress in rebuilding its AML program, including through deep investments in talent, training, process improvements, and technology."

Aquino faces a maximum of 20 years in jail and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater, for the money laundering conspiracy charge.

He also faces a maximum of 30 years in jail and a fine of up to $1,000,000, or three times the amount involved, whichever is greater, for the charge of receipt of bribes by a bank employee.

Sentencing is set for March 23, 2027.

There have been multiple other high-profile fraud cases already in 2026 that TD Bank has had to deal with.

In May, a former employee pleaded guilty to orchestrating $3.4 million in fraud.

Just weeks later, two former employees, one also with the last name "Aquino," though any relation to Gerardo is unclear, were sentenced after they used company and customer resources to help others steal large amounts of money.

TD Bank is headquartered in Mount Laurel.

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