Gov. Brown withdraws pardon of Irvine financial advisor disciplined by regulators

Gov. Jerry Brown withdrew a Christmas Eve pardon Wednesday after learning from the Los Angeles Times that he was granting clemency to a man recently disciplined by financial regulators.

Glen Williams Carnes, one of 105 people who received an executive pardon from the governor, had been cited for having “lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen.” He maintains an offfice in Irvine.

His pardon was for a 1998 conviction of possession for sale of a controlled substance, for which he spent three years on probation in Orange County. Others were given clemency for crimes involving drugs, robbery, burglary and, in one case, solicitation of murder.

In the Christmas Eve pardon, Brown said Carnes had “paid his debt to society and earned a full and unconditional pardon.”

That changed later Wednesday afternoon when The Times informed the governor’s office that federal records show Carnes was disciplined by investment regulators in May 2013.

He signed a consent settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in which he agreed to be barred from association with financial investment advisors. The document alleged Carnes hid an outside business deal and provided investigators with “false and misleading statements that minimized and mischaracterized his involvement.”

Carnes did not admit guilt.

Brown’s office said it was unaware of the disciplinary action and had relied on Carnes’ August 2013 certificate of rehabilitation from Orange County Superior Court.

“This information was not disclosed by the applicant,” Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, said in a written response to The Times. “Without the certificate of rehabilitation, this individual would not have been considered for a pardon. This particular pardon has not yet been attested by the secretary of state, and it has subsequently been withdrawn.”

Carnes did not return a message left at his Irvine business office. A woman who answered the phone at the company’s office said Carnes was at church Wednesday afternoon and would call back later.

St. John is a reporter with the Los Angeles Times.