Justice · Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Former TD Bank employee admits taking bribes to help move $4.8 million to Colombia
The File desk · Oct 7, 2026, 10:42 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed as a guilty plea, from a Justice Department release dated Oct. 6, 2026. The release says he has pleaded guilty. It does not say the plea was entered that day, and it does not name the court. The facts below are as the department states them.
Gerardo Aquino, 40, of Hollywood, Florida, has pleaded guilty to using his TD Bank job to help move money to Colombia. Prosecutors say that from April 2022 to November 2023 he opened fraudulent accounts and handed out hundreds of debit cards to co-conspirators. He also unblocked cards the bank had frozen for possible fraud. About $4.8 million left the country that way. He opened 86 accounts using the same Miami business address, and those accounts alone moved more than $3 million. His pay, the department says, was more than $8,000 in bribes.
The release is dated Oct. 6 and says he “pleaded guilty.” It does not say “today,” and it does not give a plea date or a courthouse. Sentencing is set for March 23, 2027. A judge will set the term.
He pleaded guilty to a two-count information: Legal instrument Agreeing with others to move or hide money made from crime. The Justice Department says this charge carries up to 20 years. The Aquino release cites no statute section. Legal instrument A crime for a bank employee to take payments in exchange for bank business. Up to 30 years, per the Justice Department. The Aquino release cites no statute section.Conspiring to launder monetary instruments
Receipt of bribes by a bank employee
The Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the FDIC’s inspector general investigated. Prosecutors are in the Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
This release says nothing about a case against TD Bank itself. This story does not link the plea to one.
What is still unknown or disputed
- The case number and the court.
- The date of the plea.
- Who the money belonged to.
- Whether co-conspirators are charged.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Former TD Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes, Laundering $4.8 Million to Colombia
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · October 6, 2026
As part of this scheme, Aquino opened 86 individual customer accounts using the same exact commercial address in Miami.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-td-bank-employee-pleads-guilty-accepting-bribes-laundering-48-million-colombia