PROFILE
Harry Garcia is the CEO and Founder of H. Garcia & Associates (HGA), an international and litigation consulting private investigative firm licensed in Arizona and California. Through HGA, Mr. Garcia has provided forensic accounting investigations, fraud risk assessments, international investigative services, expert witness services in white-collar crime matters, including being a supplemental expert in money laundering matters, and physical security risk mitigation assessments. His clients have included multinational corporations, privately held companies, religious institutions, water districts, and attorneys and law firms representing clients in complex civil and criminal matters.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER SUMMARY
Mr. Garcia is a forensic accounting and investigative professional with more than 40 years of experience in auditing, financial investigations, litigation support, and expert witness services. His career includes 26 years of federal investigative and financial experience with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where he served as an Internal Revenue Agent, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), where he served as a Special Agent Accountant. Following his federal service, Mr. Garcia has continued his professional career in the private sector, with Deloitte LLP and HGA in forensic accounting and litigation support investigations.
LITIGATION CONSULTING & EXPERT WITNESS EXPERIENCE
In the private sector, as well as with the federal government, Mr. Garcia has been retained and designated by federal prosecutors and trial counsel as a forensic accounting expert in criminal and civil litigation matters involving the investigation, and analysis of financial misconduct and fraudulent schemes. His case assignments and engagements have included the following:
- Misappropriation and diversion of corporate assets;
- Corruption, including kickbacks and bribery;
- Money laundering and related specified unlawful activities;
- Misappropriation of investment and financing proceeds;
- Accounts receivable and invoice factoring fraud;
- Ponzi and other fraudulent investment schemes;
- Embezzlement and other schemes resulting in the unjust enrichment of perpetrators
Mr. Garcia has provided extensive litigation support to Assistant United States Attorneys, as well as trial attorneys in the investigation, and key findings presentations of complex financial matters.
Mr. Garcia has testified as an expert witness in federal criminal proceedings, as well as in civil litigation, including testimony at depositions and civil trial(s). He has also been retained as a supplemental and rebuttal expert to independently evaluate opinions and analyses presented by opposing experts and to provide rebuttal opinions concerning money laundering related financial transactions and forensic accounting issues addressed in the opposing experts reports and testimony.
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
H. GARCIA & ASSOCIATES (HGA) –February 2005 to January 2013 and March 2015 to Present
As Managing Partner of HGA, Mr. Garcia has been retained by prominent law firms and their corporate clients, including Fortune 500 companies and religious institutions, to provide forensic investigative and litigation support services in complex matters involving financial misconduct, fraud, and other allegations of wrongdoing. His investigative engagements have included the investigations of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, investment fraud, vendor kickback schemes, inventory theft, money laundering, and clergy abuse. HGA has additionally conducted international investigations involving allegations of terrorism financing and counterfeit/brand protection violations, as well as court-ordered compliance monitoring, due diligence investigations, physical security assessments, and internal control and fraud-risk mitigation reviews. Mr. Garcia has also developed and delivered training programs addressing fraud prevention, detection and investigation procedures.
Selected Key Accomplishments
- Money Laundering Litigation & Expert Rebuttal: Retained by Southern California law firms as a supplemental and rebuttal expert in civil litigation involving allegations of money laundering underlying Specified Unlawful Activities (SUAs). Independently analyzed opposing experts’ opinions, analysis, and supporting evidence; performed forensic analysis; and prepared rebuttal opinions addressing and refuting their conclusions. HGA’s expert analysis and testimony provided substantive support to counsel in litigated matters that were resolved in their clients’ favor through pre-trial settlement and bench trial proceedings.
- Mortgage Fraud Investigation: Retained by a national mortgage company to investigate allegations of fraudulent mortgage loan originations involving a loan manager and affiliated referral sources. Conducted extensive interviews and forensic analysis of mortgage loan files, internal records, and electronic communications. HGA’s investigation identified conflicts of interest and evidence of the loan manager’s complicity with real estate agents in fraudulent loan activity, resulting in the individual’s dismissal.
- Asset Misappropriation – Litigation Support: Conducted forensic accounting investigations and provided litigation support to law firms and their financing/investment companies clients, involved in working capital investments, in complex fraud matters involving the misappropriation and diversion of investors/lenders financing proceeds, including accounts receivable factoring transactions. These investigations involved analyzing bank accounts, falsified invoices, financial statements, and other business and financial records, including tracing Ponzi scheme akin payments sent lenders to fraudulently induce the lenders to continue to advance funds, and ultimately tracing the destination of the financing proceeds.
DELOITTE LLP
Deloitte Forensic & Dispute Financial Advisory-Senior Manager: As a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Forensic & Dispute Financial Advisory practice and an expatriate Deloitte professional in South America, Mr. Garcia led complex forensic accounting and compliance engagements for multinational corporate clients. His assignments included forensic accounting investigations, AML compliance risk-based assessments, whistleblower investigations, procurement fraud matters, FCPA investigations, and assessments of FCPA compliance programs. Mr. Garcia directed investigative activities involving the analysis of financial records, transactional data, internal controls, and other evidence to identify financial irregularities, and compliance risks.
Selected Key Accomplishments
- AML Compliance Audit Oversight-Global Financial Institution: Led the independent review and quality assessment of AML compliance audits conducted by in-country internal audit teams across the bank’s Latin American operations. Evaluated audit work papers, supporting documentation, testing procedures, and underlying evidence; directed revisions where necessary and provided final certification regarding the completeness and adequacy of the audit work performed. The completed work supported the bank’s issuance of final audit reports to U.S. and host-country banking regulators.
- FCPA-Forensic Accounting Investigation – Global Pharmaceutical Company: Led a forensic accounting investigation into potential FCPA violations involving cash-equivalent promotional bonuses provided to pharmacies in Colombia. Directed investigative interviews and performed forensic analysis of a significant population of transactions, including judgmentally selected transactions subjected to detailed testing, tracing, and cross-referencing. The investigation provided the company and its counsel with a comprehensive evidentiary basis for evaluating the allegations and supported the preparation of the final investigative report.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI)
Special Agent Accountant-Supervisory Special Agent-Assistant Legal Attache-U.S. Embassy Bogotá, Colombia – January 1981 – September 2003
During his nearly 23-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Garcia served as a Special Agent Accountant and Supervisory Special Agent, specializing in complex financial crime investigations, public corruption, including law enforcement corruption, financial institution fraud, and money laundering. His assignments included domestic field offices, a diplomatic posting at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, and supervisory responsibilities in the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
Mr. Garcia also served as an FBI/Department of Justice instructor, developing and delivering specialized training programs in anti-corruption and anti-money laundering investigations for law-enforcement counterparts in Colombia and Mexico, with particular emphasis on the financial aspects of complex investigations.
Selected Key Accomplishments
- Public Corruption, Bribery & Money Laundering-San Diego, California: Led a multi-agency federal task force investigation in San Diego that exposed and dismantled a network of corrupt federal inspectors accepting bribes from drug-trafficking organizations in exchange for facilitating the entry of multi-ton quantities of cocaine across the U.S./Mexico border. The investigation also established the laundering of illicit bribe proceeds by corrupt government officials. Mr. Garcia provided extensive expert testimony during two high-profile federal trials, contributing to the conviction of several U.S. Immigration and U.S. Customs inspectors. The investigation resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of more than $2 million in illicit proceeds and other assets.
- Public Corruption, Securities Fraud & Financial Crimes- San Juan, Puerto Rico: Led a complex financial-crimes investigation in the FBI’s San Juan Division involving public corruption by elected officials and representatives of an international brokerage firm. The investigation encompassed allegations of securities fraud, bank fraud, extortion, and bribery. Mr. Garcia’s investigative work contributed to multiple federal convictions, including the mayor of Puerto Rico’s second-largest city. The prosecution also resulted in a federal court-ordered restitution exceeding $4 million. His achievements in this high-profile case, earned him the prestigious award of “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.”
- International Anti-Corruption & AML Training-Colombia & Mexico: Developed and delivered FBI and U.S. Department of Justice specialized training programs for foreign law-enforcement counterparts addressing anti-corruption and anti-money laundering investigations, with an emphasis on financial investigative techniques, tracing illicit proceeds, and developing financial evidence to support criminal prosecutions.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
Mr. Garcia began his professional career with the Internal Revenue Service as an Internal Revenue Agent, conducting comprehensive federal tax returns examinations of corporations, partnerships, and individuals. His responsibilities included examining and analyzing financial statements, accounting records, books and records, and other supporting documentation to determine the accuracy of reported income and the taxpayer’s proper federal tax liability. He applied established IRS examination and audit techniques to identify discrepancies, evaluate the financial information underlying tax returns, and develop examination tax liability findings. Mr. Garcia was commended for outstanding performance in effective time utilization, application of audit techniques, and professional communication skills.
CERTIFICATIONS-LICENSE & SPECIALTIES
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
• Board Certified in Security Management as a CPP
• Licensed Private Investigator in California and Arizona
• Diplomatic experience in South America
• FBI Special Agent Accountant & Big Four Accounting Firm experience
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
• Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
PUBLIC SPEAKING/TRAINING
• Harry is an accomplished educator on forensic interviewing techniques, fraud investigations and the financial aspects of investigating public corruption and money laundering cases. He has presented globally in South America, Singapore, Mexico and in the U.S. He has been a speaker for the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in anti-corruption and interviewing techniques courses in Mexico City and Colombia for investigators and prosecutors.
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