Republican representative from California Mike Garcia He has been accused of selling tens of thousands of dollars worth of stock before the House committee he serves on released a report that drove down Boeing’s stock price and then failing to report the transaction.
In 2020, Mike García sold up to $50,000 in Boeing shares just weeks before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee “released the damning results of its investigation into deadly crashes involving the company’s 737 Max airliner,” the Daily Beast reported.
That transaction was not revealed until November 23, 2020“more than two months after the 45-day reporting window closed,” according to the Daily Beast.
That timing is important, the Republican congressman should have reported the stock sale before the 2020 election. Instead, waited until votes were cast in an election which won by only 333 votes.
As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, García was aware of a lengthy congressional investigation into Boeing’s role in the 737 Max accidents.
In September 2020, a month after García’s trade, the committee presented its conclusions: a relentless criticism of the company, just before regulatory recertification.
“There is a possibility that he is in Congress today because he hid this,” said Jordan Libowitz., communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “And he raises the question of whether he’s looking out for his constituents or just trying to enrich himself.”
“This situation seems to be exactly the kind of fear people talk about when members of Congress benefit from their position,” Libowitz speculated. “He knew bad news was coming for Boeing and he was in a particular place to know it and he took action on it.”
In response, Garcia spokesman Liam Anderson called the story “a desperate attempt to resurrect a previously failed partisan attack – three years after the fact – from a hyper-partisan publication.”
“Congressman García immediately rectified the accidental late filing. Everything is archived and everything is public. “People are tired of these blatant lies and see clearly these lazy attempts to smear their political opponents,” Anderson went on to say.
In information obtained by this newspaper, a series of transactions carried out by García appear that reveal how apparently continued the pattern of not adequately disclosing his assets as required by law.
While serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Garcia sold shares of transportation-related companies but did not previously disclose that he owned these shares even though this is required.
▪ García sold shares of Boeing a month before a committee he served on released a final report on the Boeing 737 Max in which it stated that Boeing’s lack of transparency contributed to plane crashes.
▪ June 3, 2020-Nov. 13, 2020: Garcia sold Boeing shares that he had previously not disclosed as Congress debated COVID-19 relief aid for airlines and aircraft producers.
▪ As a member of Congress, García reported selling at least $96,012 to $390,000 in stocks he had previously not disclosed his holdings, including volatile stocks such as airlines.
▪ Additionally, as a member of Congress, García failed to timely disclose many of his stock transactions as required by law – including airline stocks – during the pandemic.
The STOCK Act required members of Congress to report stock transactions within 45 days. In 2020, Rep. Mike Garcia reported four late transactions for a total of between $46,004 and $155,000 dollars.
▪ On 7/9/20, García purchased shares of American Airlines worth between $15,001 and $50,000 and did not disclose them until 11/23/20, three months later than supposed.
▪ On 7/29/20, García bought shares of Direxion Financial Bull 3X worth $1,001 to $5,000 and did not disclose them until 11/23/20, three months later than supposed.
▪ On 08/10/20, García sold shares of Boeing worth $15,001 to $50,000 and did not disclose them until 11/23/20, two months later than supposed.
▪ On September 4, 2020, García bought shares of tesla worth between $15,001 and $50,000 and did not reveal them until November 23, 2020, more than a month later than supposed.
Crimes related to securities fraud include Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and late trading.
Securities fraud may also include false information, pump and dump schemes, or insider trading.
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