TD Bank Manager Pleads Guilty in $2M Money Laundering Conspiracy

Morristown Police assisted in federal probe involving $474 million in illicit transactions across New Jersey and New York branches

A former TD Bank assistant store manager has pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder millions in illicit funds through bank branches in New Jersey, New York, and beyond, federal authorities announced. Wilfredo Aquino, 47, of New York, entered his plea on January 6, 2026, to one count of conspiring to launder monetary instruments as part of a sprawling international financial crime network.

Aquino, who worked at a TD Bank branch in Midtown Manhattan, was a central figure in facilitating a money laundering operation led by Da Ying Sze—also known as David—and his co-conspirators, referred to by prosecutors as "David’s Network." Between 2019 and February 2021, David’s Network moved approximately $474 million through TD Bank accounts by making cash deposits at numerous bank branches in the region.

According to court documents, the majority of the network’s laundering activity was funneled through Aquino’s branch, where he personally processed approximately 1,680 official bank checks worth over $92 million. Nearly all the checks were backed by cash deposits exceeding $10,000—amounts that legally required TD Bank to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). Aquino, however, repeatedly failed to list David as the “conductor” of the transactions, despite knowing his role and the suspicious nature of the activity.

Federal prosecutors stated that Aquino ignored internal warnings, including a colleague's concern that David’s activity “looks like money laundering,” and continued to process high-volume transactions. In February 2021, Aquino helped move nearly $2 million in cash through a third party’s account, again omitting David’s name from CTR filings.

In exchange for his assistance, Aquino received more than $11,000 in retail gift cards from David, including compensation for the February 2021 transactions.

Aquino is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds, whichever is greater.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), with assistance from the Morristown Police Department. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division are handling the case.

David, the leader of the laundering network, pleaded guilty in 2022 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and orchestrating a $653 million conspiracy that included the bribery of bank employees.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bank Integrity Unit continues to investigate and prosecute financial professionals and institutions whose conduct threatens the integrity of the financial system.