Former Indianapolis broker barred from working in industry

Regulatory officials have sanctioned a former Indianapolis securities broker by permanently banning him from working in the industry.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, says it banned Andrew Manuel Garcia for conduct that took place while Garcia was working for Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. in Indianapolis in 2017.

According to FINRA records, Garcia began working for Charles Schwab in January 2017 as a customer service representative. After passing required industry exams in June of that year, he became a general securities representative at the firm.

FINRA alleges that, in April 2017, a customer that FINRA identifies only by the initials SR called the brokerage to ask for his routing and account numbers so that he could deposit his tax refunds into his Charles Schwab brokerage account.

Garcia said he mistakenly provided his own routing and account numbers to the customer, and as a result the customer’s federal and state tax refunds totaling $3,392 were deposited into Garcia’s company account.

Garcia went on to use the money for his own benefit even though he was “presented on multiple occasions with information indicting the funds did not belong to him,” a FINRA document says.

After SR called Charles Schwab to ask why his tax refunds had not been deposited in his account, the firm credited SR’s account for the proper amount and terminated Garcia on June 14, 2017, Garcia’s FINRA broker report shows.

In June, Garcia agreed to FINRA’s sanctions but without either admitting or denying its findings.

FINRA’s ban against Garcia means he can no longer work as a broker or associate with any broker-dealer firm.

IBJ was unable to locate Garcia for comment. A call left with Charles Schwab’s Indianapolis office was not immediately returned.

James Sallah, a Boca Raton, Florida, attorney who represented Garcia in this case, did not immediately return a phone message Thursday.