TD Bank Insider Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes, Laundering Millions to Colombia

A former retail banker at TD Bank N.A., Leonardo Ayala, 26, of Homestead, Florida, was sentenced today to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for accepting bribes and facilitating the laundering of more than $5.5 million to Colombia.

According to court documents, Ayala accepted bribes and exploited his position as a retail banker at TD Bank to help launder narcotics proceeds to Colombia. From June to November 2023, Ayala opened fraudulent accounts, issued over 150 debit cards to shell companies, and unblocked debit cards that TD Bank had restricted due to suspicious activity. These bank accounts and debit cards were used to make more than 12,000 ATM withdrawals in Colombia, funneling approximately $5.5 million out of the United States. In exchange, Ayala received more than $6,000 in bribes from his co-conspirators.

Ayala pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with conspiring to launder monetary instruments and accepting bribes as a bank employee.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG) New York Region made the announcement.

The IRS-CI Newark Field Office and the FDIC OIG New York Region investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pesce for the District of New Jersey prosecuted the case.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section's (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF's Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.