The former manager of Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market was charged with two felony counts Thursday after police said he embezzled about $17,000 from the market by using a company credit card for personal expenses, writing forged checks and accepting unauthorized rewards.
Tanis Monroy, 31, of Carlisle, who served as the board’s executive director from October 2022 to January 2024, is charged with theft and unauthorized use of the market’s credit card machine, both third-degree felonies. Monroy has not yet appeared in court, so no bail has been set, according to online court records.
Police said they were alerted to “suspicious and unauthorized” financial activity by the market’s treasurer in March. They collected financial documents that showed numerous checks and credit card purchases that were not business-related, according to an affidavit against Monroy.
Investigators also say Monroy submitted unauthorized bonuses totaling $7,200 for 2023 and 2024, police said. He was only authorized by the board for a one-time bonus of $1,500, police said. The bonuses and other fraudulent expenses totaled $17,000, police said.
Monroy is also accused of using the Broad Street Market credit card to make thousands of dollars in personal expenses, including ATM withdrawals, service calls to an HVAC technician, a storage unit, Uber rides, visits to restaurants/cafes and several grocery stores, fitness apps, a car wash, renewing his wife’s vehicle registration and a dog spa, the affidavit states.
A video from Walmart shows Monroy using the credit card to buy $150 worth of groceries, blankets, baby formula, fish, socks and personal items.
Police also said Monroy wrote checks from Broad Street Market to his sister and to Serve the City, a Carlisle-based charity that Monroy is involved with.
PennLive was unable to reach Monroy on Thursday. No one answered the phone number PennLive had for him.
Monroy resigned as CEO of Broad Street Market in January 2024 due to health reasons.
The market’s board of directors issued a statement in response to the criminal complaint:
“After the market board was reconstituted in January, the new board members began a review of the market’s finances and immediately identified several concerning and unauthorized transactions,” the Broad Street Market Alliance statement said. “The market manager left the organization shortly thereafter. The board immediately retained legal counsel from One Law, alerted the City of Harrisburg Police and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, and cooperated with their investigations. We thank the City and District Attorney for their thorough investigation.”
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who has helped ensure the continued operation of the market over the past six months, despite the enormous financial strain we have faced. We are now in a much stronger position than we were six months ago and are confident that the market’s best days are yet to come,” the statement continued.
The market urged the public to support the market’s efforts by purchasing from its vendors.
