Bank Insider Accepts Bribes, Opens Fake Accounts To Launder $5,500,000 in Drug Proceeds: DOJ

Former TD Bank Employee Sentenced for Money Laundering Scheme

A former retail banker at TD Bank has admitted to accepting bribes and taking advantage of his position to help launder drug money.

The US Justice Department reports that Leonardo Ayala received over $6,000 in bribes from June to November 2023. He opened fraudulent accounts, issued more than 150 debit cards to shell companies, and unblocked restricted debit cards for suspicious activities.

Ayala’s co-conspirators utilized the bank accounts and debit cards to make over 12,000 ATM withdrawals in Colombia, transferring around $5.5 million out of the US.

The 26-year-old from Homestead, Florida pleaded guilty to accepting bribes as a bank employee and facilitating money laundering in January. He was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for his crimes.

In a separate case, Cheungkin Lam, a former employee of TD Bank N.A. in New York, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and making false bank entries. Lam accepted at least $155,000 in bribes to identify accounts with large balances and steal customer data, resulting in significant financial losses.

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