Florida banker bribed to open fake accounts, issue 150 debit cards for cartel cash

A former retail banker at TD Bank was sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes and helping launder more than $5.5 million in narcotics proceeds to Colombia, the Justice Department announced.

Leonardo Ayala, 26, of Homestead, Florida, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Ayala exploited his position at TD Bank N.A. between June and November 2023 to facilitate the laundering of narcotics proceeds to Colombia. During that period, he opened fraudulent accounts, issued more than 150 debit cards to shell companies, and unblocked debit cards that TD Bank had previously restricted due to suspicious activity, prosecutors said.

The bank accounts and debit cards were then used to make more than 12,000 ATM withdrawals in Colombia, funneling approximately $5.5 million out of the United States, according to court documents. In exchange for his assistance, Ayala received more than $6,000 in bribes from co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

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

The case was announced by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey, IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and FDIC Office of Inspector General New York Region Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca.

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, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pesce for the District of New Jersey, handled the prosecution.

The Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section seeks to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels and protect the U.S. financial system. Its 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, according to the department.