Former TD Banker Sentenced In $5.5-Million Colombia Money Laundering Scheme / Fresh Today / CUToday.info

NEWARK, N.J.—A former TD Bank retail banker was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison after admitting he accepted bribes and helped launder more than $5.5 million in drug proceeds through a scheme that moved money from the United States to Colombia, federal prosecutors said last week.

Leonardo Ayala, 26, of Homestead, Fla., previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and receipt of bribes by a bank employee. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ayala used his position at TD Bank to open fraudulent accounts, issue more than 150 debit cards tied to shell companies and reactivate cards that had been restricted because of suspicious activity. The accounts were then used to funnel illicit funds to Colombia through ATM withdrawals.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas also sentenced Ayala to three years of supervised release. Prosecutors said Ayala accepted bribes in exchange for helping the laundering network operate through TD Bank accounts and that investigators traced approximately $5.5 million in laundered funds through accounts he serviced.

The case is one of several prosecutions stemming from TD Bank’s historic anti-money-laundering failures. In October 2024, TD Bank pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act and money-laundering conspiracy violations and agreed to pay more than $3 billion in penalties after federal authorities found systemic compliance failures that allowed criminal networks to move hundreds of millions of dollars through the bank. Investigators have since charged multiple TD employees in separate schemes involving the laundering of funds to Colombia and other criminal networks.