Somerset County man pleads guilty in $26M Colombian ATM laundering scheme tied to TD Bank branch
NEWARK, N.J. — A Somerset County man who worked at a TD Bank branch in Scotch Plains pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for helping a money laundering network move more than $26 million from the United States to Colombia through TD Bank accounts, federal prosecutors said.
Oscar Marcel Nunez-Flores, 34, of North Plainfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to conspiring to launder monetary instruments and to receiving bribes as a bank employee, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 27.
“This case shows how complex money laundering schemes often depend on insiders who are willing to bend—or break—basic safeguards. Our office will continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who turn financial institutions into vehicles for large-scale criminal activity.” – Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello
“Mr. Nunez afforded his co-conspirators unfettered access to TD Bank, while lining his own pockets in the process, and has been held to account, as will be others who abuse the financial system,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva. “The Criminal Division is committed to protecting the security of our financial system and the Bank Integrity Unit is at the vanguard of that critical mission.”
According to court filings and statements made in court, prosecutors said Nunez participated in the scheme beginning in March 2021 and continuing until his arrest in October 2023. Prosecutors said he was employed at a TD Bank location in Scotch Plains and used his position to facilitate the expatriation of more than $26 million to Colombia.
Prosecutors said Nunez opened dozens of accounts in the names of shell companies with nominee owners — sometimes without any customer present — and that the accounts were collectively issued more than 600 debit cards, primarily by Nunez. The debit cards were later used to make more than 120,000 ATM withdrawals throughout Colombia, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Nunez also shipped debit cards directly to a co-conspirator in Colombia and registered shell companies in New Jersey before opening accounts in their names at TD Bank as part of the scheme. Prosecutors said he opened accounts in exchange for fees ranging from about $500 to $2,500, typically paid in cash or through a peer-to-peer digital payment network.
The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and the bank bribery charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, prosecutors said.
