Two former TD Bank insiders jailed over money laundering and fraud

What happened

Two former New York-based TD Bank employees were sentenced to prison in the United States on 14 and 15 July 2026 for helping outside conspirators launder money or commit fraud, according to the US Department of Justice.

Wilfredo Aquino, 47, of Manhattan, received a 46-month sentence on 15 July. Edward Low, 31, of Flushing, was sentenced to 24 months the previous day in a separate case involving misconduct at TD Bank and another financial institution.

Aquino used his position as an assistant branch manager to help a money laundering network move funds through TD Bank accounts between 2019 and February 2021, the department said, citing court documents. The network deposited about $474 million in cash at branches in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere.

He processed about 1,680 official bank cheques worth more than $92 million for the network's leader, Da Ying Sze, also known as David, and his co-conspirators. In return for his assistance, Aquino received retail gift cards worth more than $11,000.

Low's conduct at TD Bank took place between January and May 2021. According to court documents described by the department, he obtained confidential customer information through his retail banking role and passed it to outside conspirators, who used it to gain control of accounts and steal customers' money.

Low also handled some of the fraudulent transactions himself. He received at least $26,700 in bribes and helped facilitate $484,572.16 in fraud at TD Bank.

Between May and August 2022, while working at a different financial institution, Low accepted a bribe to falsify records so an account could be opened in a shell company's name. His co-conspirators used that account to carry out at least $47,195 in fraud. The department did not name that institution.

The background

Nearly all the bank cheques Aquino processed were backed by a corresponding cash deposit exceeding $10,000. Those deposits triggered a legal requirement for TD Bank to submit a currency transaction report, which records information about qualifying cash transactions, including who carried them out.

Although Aquino knew Sze was making the deposits, he did not identify him in the reports as the person conducting them. The misconduct therefore concerned the accuracy of the transaction records, rather than simply whether the bank submitted a report.

In February 2021, Aquino helped complete three transactions involving almost $2 million in cash through another person's account. By omitting Sze's role from the reports, he concealed the network leader's involvement, according to the department.

Sze pleaded guilty in February 2022 to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, running an unlicensed money-transmitting business and bribing bank employees. That broader conspiracy figure is distinct from the approximately $474 million the department said his network moved through TD Bank accounts.

Aquino pleaded guilty in January 2026 to conspiring to launder money. Low pleaded guilty the following month to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports as an employee.

The cases illustrate different forms of insider misuse: manipulating records intended to support financial oversight, disclosing customer information and using transaction-processing authority to assist outsiders. They concern employees abusing their work access, rather than outsiders obtaining access without an employee's help.

A related use of staff privileges featured in Insider Threat Roundup's earlier report on a Louisiana benefits employee who admitted redirecting unemployment payments. That case involved access to about 40 claimant accounts, showing how information held for routine services can also be used to divert funds.

What people are saying

The Justice Department said Aquino knew TD Bank had already closed other accounts associated with Sze because of suspicious activity. It also reported that a colleague had warned Aquino that Sze's transactions appeared to involve money laundering.

The department attributed the investigations to the Newark office of IRS Criminal Investigation and the New York region of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Office of Inspector General. It also acknowledged assistance from the Morristown Police Department.

The announcement came from Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, New Jersey US Attorney Robert Frazer, and investigators Jenifer L. Piovesan and Patricia Tarasca. The release did not include responses from either defendant or TD Bank.

What happens next

The announcement establishes the prison terms but does not give dates for either man to begin serving them. It also provides no information about appeals, restitution orders or changes TD Bank may have made to its controls.

For organisations reviewing the cases, the relevant safeguards extend beyond limiting access to customer data. The conduct also raises questions about independent checks on transaction records, oversight of staff-assisted payments and how warnings about suspicious customers reach decision-makers.

Low's later misconduct at a second institution adds a separate employment-risk dimension. The release does not explain what that employer knew about his earlier conduct or what checks it carried out, so it does not establish whether a particular recruitment safeguard failed.