TD Bank anti-money laundering employee in U.S. faces New York criminal charge – National

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

TD Bank anti-money laundering employee in U.S. faces New York ********* charge – National

An ********* TD Bank employee who worked in the bank’s heavily scrutinized anti-money laundering department has been criminally indicted in New York, the Manhattan district attorney announced Thursday.

Daria Sewell is charged with unlawful possession of personal identifying information she allegedly stole from TD Bank customers and distributed on Telegram, according to a statement from Alvin Bragg’s office.

The indictment comes shortly after TD Bank’s U.S. arm pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. law aimed at preventing money laundering — the largest bank ever to do so — and was hit with a historic US$3 billion fine.

“This defendant allegedly abused her access while working in TD Bank’s anti-money laundering department to steal from the bank’s own customers,” Bragg said in a statement.

“Telegram can be a hotbed for ********* activity, and we have uncovered everything from ****** to the ***** of ******** firearms and the financing of terrorism.”

Story continues below advertisement

The charges against Sewell stemmed from a larger investigation that charged five more people in an alleged cheque ****** scheme that totaled nearly US$500,000, the district attorney’s office said, which allegedly saw the accused ******** stolen cheques into their personal bank accounts.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

2:17
Business Matters: TD Bank to pay $3 billion USD in historic money-laundering settlement with U.S. Justice Department

The investigation found the other five defendants, among others, allegedly communicated with Sewell about “strategies for committing” cheque ******.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

According to the indictment, a search warrant ********* on Sewell’s phone found she had images of 255 cheques with names of TD Bank customers, along with personal information of nearly 70 other customers including names, addresses and social security numbers.

Sewell then allegedly distributed the information on a Telegram channel she operated, and would instruct others to open bank accounts to ******** the cheques. She would then split the profits with those people, according to the indictment.

Story continues below advertisement

The 32-year-old Sewell, a New York resident who worked for TD from 2023 to May 2024, has not yet responded to the charge and the allegations in the indictment.

Bragg’s office said the investigation into the cheque ****** scheme and Sewell’s alleged conduct ******** ongoing.

In its indictment of TD Bank’s U.S. divisions last year, the U.S. government had accused TD of ignoring multiple red flags from high-risk customers and creating a “convenient” environment for money laundering.

TD’s ******** on money laundering controls allowed ********** to launder more than US$670 million through the bank over six years, including profits from fentanyl trafficking., according to U.S. authorities.

Trending Now

• Canada Post, union still at odds as strike looms. What are the sticking points?

• Read the transcript of Kamala Harris’ concession speech after election loss

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

2:14
Business Matters: TD Bank posts $181M loss amid anti-money laundering probe charge

TD Bank’s settlement of the charges included accepting an asset cap on its U.S. business interests, preventing it from expanding any further.

Story continues below advertisement

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a frequent critic of financial institutions, wrote to the U.S. attorney general last week that the settlement ******* to hold corporate executives accountable.

Warren said both executives and the bank itself were able to escape the full scope of penalties that Congress could have levied, despite allowing the bank “to act as a ********* slush fund and hurt hundreds of thousands of people.”

TD has said it is making the investments, changes and enhancements required to deliver on commitments regarding its anti-money laundering program both in Canada and the U.S.

Fintrac, Canada’s national financial intelligence agency imposed a record $9.2 million penalty on TD earlier this year for lax money laundering controls.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month he is “concerned” about the actions alleged at TD, and the federal government says it has introduced a significant number of measures to strengthen Canada’s money laundering oversight.

— with files from the ********* Press

More on ******
More videos

&copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Bank #antimoney #laundering #employee #U.S #faces #York #********* #charge #National

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up