A former New York-based employee of TD Bank N.A, Wilfredo Aquino, pleaded guilty today to facilitating a money laundering network’s movement of hundreds of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts.
“The defendant leveraged his position at TD Bank and facilitated the criminal activity of a money laundering network that moved hundreds of millions of dollars through the bank’s accounts,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “During the illicit scheme, the defendant evaded reporting requirements to hide the identity of the leader of the money laundering network. The Criminal Division is fully committed to rooting out money-laundering networks and their facilitators that exploit the security and stability of our country’s banking system.”
“Aquino helped criminals launder money from inside TD Bank,” said Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello for the Criminal and Special Prosecutions Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. “Bank employees are the first line of defense against money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes. When bank employees ignore their obligations and instead use their positions to commit crimes and line their own pockets, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable.”
“Wilfredo Aquino’s position at TD Bank required him to report suspicious customer activity and adhere to robust anti-money laundering regulations,” said Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office. “Instead, he turned a blind eye to complying with the law and prioritized enriching himself. IRS-CI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate individuals taking advantage of our financial system through criminal activity.”
Aquino, 47, of New York, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with conspiring to launder monetary instruments. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.
According to court filings, beginning in 2019 and continuing until February 2021, Aquino, then a TD Bank assistant store manager, leveraged his position to facilitate a money laundering network’s movement of hundreds of millions of dollars through TD Bank accounts. During that time, the leader of the network, Da Ying Sze, also known as David, and his co-conspirators (collectively known as David’s Network) moved approximately $474 million through TD Bank accounts by depositing cash at TD Bank stores in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. In February 2022, David pleaded guilty to coordinating a $653 million money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and bribing bank employees in connection with financial transactions.
While David’s Network used a number of TD Bank stores to conduct its money laundering activity, it laundered the most money through Aquino’s Midtown Manhattan store. Nobody processed more transactions for David’s Network at the Midtown Manhattan store than Aquino.
During the course of David’s money laundering scheme, Aquino processed approximately 1,680 official bank checks for David’s Network, totaling more than approximately $92 million. Nearly all of these bank checks were funded with a corresponding cash deposit exceeding $10,000, which triggered TD Bank’s legal requirement to file a currency transaction report (CTR). Although Aquino knew that David was conducting these cash deposits, Aquino never identified David as the “conductor” on the CTR. Aquino also knew that TD Bank had closed other accounts linked to David for suspicious activity; one colleague even warned Aquino that David’s activity “looks like money laundering.” In February 2021, Aquino facilitated three of David’s money laundering transactions, totaling almost $2 million in cash, in a third party’s account. He failed to report David as the conductor of the transaction, thus concealing David’s role in the money laundering scheme.
Aquino accepted numerous retail gift cards from David totaling over $11,000 in return for his facilitation of this scheme, including for the three transactions in February 2021.
The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the offense, whichever is greater.
IRS-CI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) investigated the case. The Department also thanks the Morristown Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marko Pesce, Chief of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s 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.
Binghamton University is working to make you safer one step at a time, and you may start noticing on your way to class or meetings — the classic automated external defibrillators (AED), naloxone (Narcan) and bleeding control cabinets throughout campus are getting a major upgrade.
“In addition to those supplies, these stations are outfitted with new tools to share safety information to curious passersby and expedite getting help in an emergency,” said Cait Cavanaugh, associate director for the Office of Emergency Management. “During ’normal’ times, we have emergency procedures information and an instructional video on how to use an AED. In an emergency, with a push of the intercom button, or by opening the safety equipment cabinet door, the stations will activate an emergency call, with video, to the University’s emergency dispatch center,”
But that’s not all that’s different.
“The most obvious update, however, is the appearance,” Cavanaugh added. “The lime-green wall and blue light are dual purpose: In addition to being memorable and easy to find in an emergency, the blue light (which signifies an emergency call button) can also be used with the B-Alert emergency alert system. The light is actually a speaker! We will be able to use text-to-voice integration to share time-sensitive information using one more method to better serve our diverse community.”
The Emergency Station Program marks the next step in proactive readiness for Binghamton University. This program helps make publicly accessible equipment available in an emergency — when stress levels are high — while co-locating integrated technology to aid dispatch and communicate with those experiencing an emergency.
“While a handful of other campuses have also added emergency procedure information to their AED cabinet locations, we may be the first to make a fully outfitted station as a one-stop shop for any emergency,” Cavanaugh said. “The concept of highlighting safety equipment and making safety a key feature in a building is progressive for higher ed.”
The project is a joint effort with several areas across campus, but large contributions have been made by Security Infrastructure and Support within ITS, whose subject matter experts have worked to identify the best technologies to use to meet the University’s needs.
The priority for the emergency stations was prominence. Making sure to provide room for growth, the rollout of the program has prioritized areas where more people gather, but you can expect to see more pop up over time across the University.
“Our campus walls are full of exciting programming fliers and department info — so our AED cabinets seem invisible in comparison. We also wanted to build a more sustainable program, with room to grow inside equipment cabinets for additional equipment to be added in the future,” Cavanaugh said. “Our office is also always tracking best practices and new legislation of publicly accessible equipment.”
If you are experiencing an emergency, you can reach University emergency services by dialing (607) 777-2222 from any phone or dialing 911; pressing the emergency call button at any emergency station at blue light phone; or using the SAFEBING app and press “Call 911 Now!” or “Campus BlueLight.”
Donald Trump, by dramatically seizing Nicolás Maduro and claiming dominion over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, has taken his “drill, baby, drill” mantra global. Achieving the president’s dream of supercharging the country’s oil production would be financially challenging – and if fulfilled, would be “terrible for the climate”, experts say.
Trump has aggressively sought to boost oil and gas production within the US. Now, after the capture and arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, he is seeking to orchestrate a ramp-up of drilling in Venezuela, which has the largest known reserves of oil in the world – equivalent to about 300bn barrels, according to research firm the Energy Institute.
“The oil companies are going to go in, they are going to spend money, we are going to take back the oil, frankly, we should’ve taken back a long time ago,” the US president said after Maduro’s extraction from Caracas. “A lot of money is coming out of the ground, we are going to be reimbursed for everything we spend.”
Venezuela’s oil reserves
US oil companies will “spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure … and start making money for the country”, Trump added, with his administration pressing Venezuela’s interim government to delete a law requiring oil projects to be half-owned by the state.
Leading US oil businesses such as Exxon and Chevron have so far remained silent on whether they would spend the huge sums required to enact the president’s vision for Venezuela. But should Venezuela ramp up output to near its 1970s peak of 3.7m barrels a day – more than triple current levels – it would further undermine the already faltering global effort to limit dangerous global heating.
Law enforcement officials move captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of the helicopter in New York on 5 January. Photograph: Adam Gray/Reuters
Even raising production to 1.5m barrels of oil a day from current levels of around 1m barrels would produce around 550m tons of carbon dioxide a year when the fuel is burned, according to Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This is more carbon pollution than what is emitted annually by major economies such as the UK and Brazil.
“If there are millions of barrels a day of new oil, that will add quite a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and the people of Earth can’t afford that,” said John Sterman, an expert in climate and economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The climate costs would be especially high because Venezuela produces some of the world’s most carbon-intensive oil. Its vast reserves of extra-heavy crude are particularly dirty, and its other reserves are “also quite carbon- and methane-intensive”, Mahdavi said.
The world is close to breaching agreed temperature increase limits – already suffering more severe heatwaves, storms and droughts as a result. Increased Venezuelan drilling would further lower global oil prices and slow the needed momentum towards renewable energy and electric cars, Sterman added.
“If oil production goes up, climate change will get worse sooner, and everybody loses, including the people of Venezuela,” he said. “The climate damages suffered by Venezuela, along with other countries, will almost certainly outweigh any short-term economic benefit of selling a bit more oil.”
During his first year back in the White House, Trump has demanded the world remain running on fossil fuels rather than “scam” renewables and has threatened the annexation of Canada, a major oil-producing country, and Greenland, an Arctic island rich with mineral resources.
Donald Trump returns to the White House on 4 January. Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
Critics have accused Trump of a fossil fuel-driven “imperialism” that threatens to further destabilize the world’s climate, as well as upend international politics. “The US must stop treating Latin America as a resource colony,” said Elizabeth Bast, the executive director of Oil Change International. “The Venezuelan people, not US oil executives, must shape their country’s future.”
Patrick Galey, head of fossil fuel investigations at the climate and justice NGO Global Witness, said Trump’s aggression in Venezuela is “yet another conflict fuelled by fossil fuels, which are overwhelmingly controlled by some of the world’s most despotic regimes”.
“So long as governments continue to rely on fossil fuels in energy systems, their constituents will be hostage to the whims of autocrats,” he said.
A complex economic picture
Though the president’s stated vision is for US-based oil companies to tap Venezuela’s oil reserves for profit, making good on that promise may be complicated by economic, historical and geological factors, experts say.
Oil companies may not be “eager to invest what’s needed because it will take a lot longer than the three years of President Trump’s term”, said Sterman.
“That’s a lot of risk – political risk, project risk,” he said. “It seems very tricky.”
Upping production is “also just a bad bet generally”, said Galey. “Any meaningful increase in current production would require tens of billions of investment in things like repairs, upgrades and replacing creaking infrastructure,” he said. “That’s not even taking into account the dire security situation.”
Venezuela’s oil production has fallen dramatically from its historical highs – a decline experts blame on both mismanagement and US sanctions imposed by Barack Obama and escalated by Trump. By 2018, the country was producing just 1.3m barrels a day – roughly half of what it produced when Maduro took office in 2013, just over a third of what it produced in the 1990s, and about a third of its peak production in the 1970s.
Trump has said US companies will revive production levels and be “reimbursed” for the costs of doing so. But the economics of that expansion may not entice energy majors, and even if they choose to play along, it would take years to meaningful boost extraction, experts say.
An abandoned PDVSA facility in the Melones oilfield in El Tigre, Venezuela, on 15 October 2021. Photograph: Manaure Quintero/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Boosting Venezuela’s oil output by 500,000 barrels a day would cost about $10bn and take roughly two years, according to Energy Aspects. Production could reach between 2 and 2.5m barrels a day within a decade by tapping medium crude reserves, Mahdavi said. But returning to peak output would require developing the Orinoco Belt, whose heavy, sulfur-rich crude is far more costly and difficult to extract, transport and refine.
Returning to 2m barrels per day by the early 2030s would require about $110bn in investment, according to Rystad Energy, an industry consultancy.
“That is going to take much more time and much more money, to be able to get at or close to maybe 3, 4 or 5m barrels a day of production,” said Mahdavi.
Increasing Venezuelan extraction amid booming US production may also be a hard sell. “The heavy Venezuelan crude that could be refined in US Gulf coast installations is likely going to undercut domestic producers, who until Trump kidnapped Maduro had been vocally supportive of sanctions on Venezuelan oil,” said Galey.
Some firms may be willing to “eat that uncertainty” because the US plans to provide companies with financial support to drill in Venezuela, said Mahdavi.
“If you’re willing to deal with the challenges … you are looking still at relatively cheap crude that will get you a higher profit margin than what you can do in the United States,” he said. “That’s why they’re still interested: it’s way more expensive to drill in, say, the US’s Permian Basin.”
Some US oil majors may be more receptive to Trump’s Venezuela strategy. Chevron, the only US company operating in the country, may be poised scale up production faster than its rivals. And ExxonMobil, which has invested heavily in oil production within neighboring Guyana, could benefit from the removal of Maduro, who staunchly opposes that expansion.
Overall, however, it remains unclear how US oil majors will respond to Trump’s plans of regime change and increased oil extraction in Venezuela. What is much clearer is that any expansion would be “terrible for the climate, terrible for the environment”, said Mahdavi.
We are pleased to announce the release of an online, self-paced training course that offers an overview of the One Big Beautiful BillAct (P.L. 119-21) (OBBBA) as it relates to the federal student aid programs. The course covers current requirements and explains how the new law affects those requirements.
The course includes four lessons on the following topics:
HOUSTON, Jan. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) (“Targa” or the “Company”) announced today that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of Stakeholder Midstream, LLC for $1.25 billion in cash. The acquisition has an effective date of January 1, 2026.
About Targa Resources Corp.
Targa Resources Corp. is a leading provider of midstream services and is one of the largest independent infrastructure companies in North America. The Company owns, operates, acquires and develops a diversified portfolio of complementary domestic infrastructure assets, and its operations are critical to the efficient, safe and reliable delivery of energy across the United States and increasingly to the world. The Company’s assets connect natural gas and NGLs to domestic and international markets with growing demand for cleaner fuels and feedstocks.
Targa is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in the S&P 500.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.targaresources.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company’s projected financial performance, capital spending, and payment of future dividends. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, factors and risks, many of which are outside the Company’s control, which could cause results to differ materially from those expected by management of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, actions taken by other countries with significant hydrocarbon production, weather, political, economic and market conditions, including a decline in the price and market demand for natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, the timing and success of the Company’s completion of capital projects and business development efforts, the expected growth of volumes on the Company’s systems, the impact of significant public health crises, commodity price volatility due to ongoing or new global conflicts, the impact of disruptions in the bank and capital markets, changes in laws and regulations, particularly with regard to taxes, tariffs and international trade, and other uncertainties. These and other applicable uncertainties, factors and risks are described more fully in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Alphen aan den Rijn/Berlin – January 7, 2026 – Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory announced today the launch of the Libra Legal AI Workspace in the Netherlands. The solution combines Libra’s leading AI technology with Wolters Kluwer’s reliable and authoritative legal content offering and signifies the first tangible result of the acquisition of Libra Technology in November 2025.
The Libra Legal AI Workspace provides users with an integrated working environment for legal research, drafting, review and analysis of legal documents, while having direct access to Wolters Kluwer legal content including legislation, commentaries, specialist literature, practical guides and digital formats. The content is seamlessly connected with Libra’s generative AI capabilities and supports legal workflows across the entire process.
For law firms and corporate legal departments in the Netherlands, Wolters Kluwer and Libra set new standards for using AI in the legal profession:
Tailored, AI-powered workspace for research, analysis, and document creation, seamlessly integrated into existing processes and workflows.
Trusted AI outputs based on current, curated and country-specific legal content from one of the most renowned information providers.
Significantly higher efficiency by bringing together all legal workflows for the first time in a single, central Legal AI Workspace.
Comprehensive transparency and traceability of sources, ensuring that quality, liability, and compliance requirements are met with confidence.
Rimco Spanjer, VP & Managing Director Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory Benelux: “Being deeply rooted in the workflows of our customers with our content solutions, we are happy to enhance our offerings in the Netherlands by launching the Libra Legal AI Workspace. The integrated AI working environment combines high-quality legal content from Wolters Kluwer and innovative technology, making the day-to-day work of law firms and corporate legal departments significantly more efficient.”
Viktor von Essen, Co-Founder and CEO of Libra: “We are delighted to start our pan-European expansion with the market entry in the Netherlands. It allows us to immediately showcase the full potential of the Libra Legal AI Workspace in one of Wolters Kluwer’s core markets. We are looking forward to launching Libra in further European countries soon.”
As of today, existing Wolters Kluwer customers in the Netherlands can start a free trial version of the Libra Legal AI Workspace immediately. More information can found on www.libratech.ai/nl.
The City of Toronto, in partnership with United Way of Greater Toronto, has opened nominations for the 2026 Toronto Community Champion Award. Launched in 2023, this annual program celebrates community organizations that strengthen Toronto, support residents and foster inclusion, with a focus on those serving Indigenous, Black and other equity-deserving groups.
Residents can nominate organizations based on their lived/living experiences, highlighting the work of non-profit organizations who are making a difference in their communities.
Nominations will be reviewed by a panel of community leaders. Award recipients will be selected from organizations that:
are community-focused and adapt their services to respond to community needs
demonstrate an inclusive and innovative approach to their work
serve Indigenous, Black and/or equity-deserving groups and communities
provide community service as their primary focus rather than fundraising or grant-making
have not previously received a Toronto Community Champion Award or another City award.
To be eligible, nominated organizations must:
be based in Toronto with most programs/services offered to Toronto residents and have an office/location in Toronto
operate as a not-for-profit or charitable organization, or be grassroots serving Indigenous, Black and/or other equity-deserving groups
have a volunteer board of directors, executive or committee made up of at least three people
not be a school, hospital or other government institution
not be a program or organization run on behalf of the City.
Nominations are open until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 1. Residents can submit a nomination or learn more on the City’s website: toronto.ca/communitychampion.
Award recipients will be announced and honoured at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
Toronto is home to more than three million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation and climate action, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on X, Instagram or Facebook.
