Ex-TD Bank employee in Doral charged in laundering scheme for Colombian drug cartel
MIAMI — A former employee of TD Bank in Doral was charged with money laundering to Colombia, two months after the Toronto-based company was ordered to pay almost $3.1 billion in fines related to funds sent to drug cartels.
Leonardo Ayala, 24, worked for the bank between February and November 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ayala made his initial appearance Tuesday in Miami federal court, and all future court proceedings will take place in New Jersey.
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, Ayala faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
He is alleged to have received payments totaling $2,900 from a Venezuelan national over a money-transfer app, according to the document.
Beginning in June 2023, Ayala allegedly exploited his position as a bank employee to facilitate money laundering, according to court documents. After another TD Bank employee opened accounts in the names of shell companies with nominee owners, Ayala allegedly assisted the money laundering network by issuing dozens of debit cards for the accounts in exchange for bribes.
Those accounts then were used to launder millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds through cash withdrawals at ATMs in Colombia, according to prosecutors.
"Ayala repeatedly and corruptly issued numerous debit cards for TD Bank accounts originally opened in New Jersey, and had those debit cards mailed to an address in New Jersey, despite knowing that he was being directed to do so by individuals that were not the identified account holder," prosecutors said in the criminal complaint.
TD Bank and drug cartels money laundering
In November, the TD Bank agreed to pay $1.8 billion to the Justice Department, $1.3 billion to FinCen and $450 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates the company.
TD Bank also faces a cap on its US retail-banking assets for failure to catch money laundering by drug cartels and other criminals.
Between January 2014 and October 2023, TD Bank failed to monitor $18.3 trillion in customer activity, leading to extensive money laundering, regulators said.
Two former TD employees were already charged in the same conspiracy as Ayala, which was dubbed the "Colombian ATM typology."