Two former New York TD Bank employees who quietly greased the wheels for a massive money laundering and fraud operation are now headed to federal prison. Wilfredo Aquino, 47, was sentenced to 46 months behind bars, while Edward Low, 31, received 24 months. Both pleaded guilty earlier this year after investigators tied their work inside neighborhood branches to sprawling criminal networks that moved and stole millions.
How prosecutors say Aquino helped launder funds
According to the Department of Justice, Aquino used his position as an assistant store manager at a Midtown Manhattan TD Bank branch to quietly funnel huge volumes of suspect transactions. Prosecutors say he processed about 1,680 official bank checks for a laundering network, helping move more than $92 million in checks and route roughly $474 million through TD accounts.
Instead of flagging the activity, Aquino failed to identify the network’s leader on required currency transaction reports and, prosecutors say, took more than $11,000 in retail gift cards as his cut. He pleaded guilty in January 2026 and was sentenced on July 15, 2026, according to the Justice Department.
Fraud, bribes and stolen customer data
In a related case, Edward Low, a Flushing resident and former TD retail employee, turned confidential customer information into a side hustle. Low accepted at least $26,700 in bribes and helped enable about $484,572 in fraud by stealing and passing along sensitive account details, Tampa Free Press reports.
Prosecutors also say Low later moved to another financial institution and falsified records there to open a shell account that was used in an additional $47,195 scheme. He pleaded guilty in February 2026 and was sentenced to 24 months in prison, according to those reports.
These cases connect to a larger network
Federal officials say neither man was freelancing. The sentences connect back to a laundering network led by Da Ying Sze, known to bank employees as “David,” who pleaded guilty in February 2022 after prosecutors said his operation pushed hundreds of millions of dollars through U.S. banks, the Department of Justice says.
Authorities have described Sze’s activity as moving approximately $474 million through TD Bank branches and more than $653 million overall. The insider prosecutions of Aquino and Low are part of the broader criminal follow-up to that investigation. Officials say the cases drew in IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General, with help from local police.
Regulatory fallout for the bank
On top of the criminal cases, regulators have already walloped TD Bank for systemic anti money laundering failures. FinCEN slapped the bank with a record $1.3 billion penalty in October 2024, and TD’s own filings describe a "Global Resolution" totaling about $3.088 billion tied to Justice Department and regulator actions, underscoring why authorities focused so heavily on insider conduct, according to FinCEN and the bank’s disclosure of its fiscal results.
The enforcement actions installed an independent monitor and required broad remediation of TD’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti money laundering program. Bank officials have said they are rolling out overhauled controls and data reviews to prevent future abuses.
What comes next for victims and branches
Victims may be eligible for restitution as prosecutors keep tracing illicit proceeds through the banking system. Investigators named in the sentencing announcements included IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General, with assistance from local police, Tampa Free Press notes.
The prosecutions were handled by the Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. With prison terms now in place for the two former insiders, the focus shifts to asset recovery, victim restitution and the lingering question of whether additional employees or outside facilitators will face charges.
