Former TD employee in Florida accused of opening fraudulent accounts, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -A former TD Bank employee falsified documents to open dozens of accounts and provided concierge-like services to help cash flow across borders, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Gerry Aquino Vargas, the now-former retail banker in Hollywood, Florida, an outpost of TD Bank, took a series of $200 bribes to help clients move millions to Colombia by skirting anti-money-laundering defenses, the report said, citing American prosecutors.

“When we became aware of these matters, we took action against these employees, coordinated efforts with the DOJ, and have supported their work to bring these criminals to justice,” the bank said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“More broadly, where our program was ineffective, we have held those leaders accountable and are taking action to drive the changes and meet our obligations,” a spokesperson for the bank added in an additional comment.

The lender is facing a U.S. Department of Justice investigation over its ties to a $653 million drug money-laundering case in New York and New Jersey, which is related to illegal drug sales and an employee taking a bribe to facilitate the laundering of drug money.

Last year, the bank disclosed it was cooperating with authorities in an investigation into its anti-money laundering compliance program by the DoJ.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat, Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)