42 Comments
 

It has nothing to do with the FDIC dude. As long as they are a member of FINRA, you will get fingerprinted, and your card will be sent to FINRA.

If you become a registered representative, you'll have to fill out a U4. If you as so much as sneezed in the past decade, they'll know about it (unless you or one of your bros had a good lawyer connection). Unfortunately, some crimes no matter how petty (including theft), will automatically preclude you from becoming a registered rep.

 

fake id. gonna go comp sci and to the valley now, lucky i caught this early before i'd be screwed. The boutiques i interviewed with and got offers from are FINRA - i checked their database of firms. Or if im lucky, straight to VC.

considering consulting too.

 
"iConsult"

Fake ID as in you got caught with a fake ID for underage drinking? Is that really enough to make sure someone can't get a banking job?

Yes. "Dishonest" crime, so FINRA has to be alerted by FBI. Would have to wait 10 years according to guy at FINRA i just spoke to.
 

I am. Fake Id charge but in florida starts as felony. Got it dropped to misdeamnor, then case dropped, then expunged. It is a "dishonest" crime, so FINRA has it on file and I just spoke to FINRA and the firm would have to fill out a ton of paperwork and they have the right to not hire me based on it.

 
"Mephistopheles"

Seriously though, that should have been a pretty basic misdemeanor which doesn't really matter. Unless you're not telling the whole truth.

Yeah...OP, before you make a major life change first be honest with yourself about what happened. Getting caught with a fake for drinking is far different than using a fake to launder money for the Sinaloa Cartel. I'd imagine the former will be no problem and if you really think it is, ask HR for the offers you've received. You're willing to change your life-that you most likely worked for in school, networking, interviewing, etc- so the risk of asking HR or the people doing a background check about a fake ID to grab booze when you were under 21 isn't a risk.

Basically, step back from the ledge.

 
"Dingdong08"
Mephistopheles:Seriously though, that should have been a pretty basic misdemeanor which doesn't really matter. Unless you're not telling the whole truth.

Yeah...OP, before you make a major life change first be honest with yourself about what happened. Getting caught with a fake for drinking is far different than using a fake to launder money for the Sinaloa Cartel. I'd imagine the former will be no problem and if you really think it is, ask HR for the offers you've received. You're willing to change your life-that you most likely worked for in school, networking, interviewing, etc- so the risk of asking HR or the people doing a background check about a fake ID to grab booze when you were under 21 isn't a risk.

Basically, step back from the ledge.

Previous WSO threads say that a fake id charge means you're out. Google em. I dun goof'd. And it was for drinking. I'm not wasting my time with HR based off what I read.

And like I said, it all comes back to FINRA. FINRA would require me to get waivers and then the firm would have to fill out a lot of shit, the rep said there are a lot of "ifs" and to speak with a disclosure specialist and have my lawyer on the other line. Fuck banking. If this is how it is, fuck all of it

 

I'm sorry but this site is full of college kids who have no clue what they are talking about. Whoever said that you'd be unemployable because of a fake ID charge that has already been expunged is full of crap.

While technically a FINRA registered firm could take away your offer / fire you for this, JUDGEMENT is applied when making that decision. I am sorry, they are a lot of stuck-up people in finance, but no one is this stuck up. Everyone drank and had a fake ID in college. If you don't want to take any risk, you can talk about it with HR before they do the check, but I can assure you the worst that can happen is that you'll be laughed at (and will probably be referred to as fake ID for the remaining of your career there)

 

You will be fine, I had a buddy who was in the same situation but did not have the charges fully expunged when his offer came and he still got the job, granted his charge was a misdemeanor from the start. The fact that the charge had been dismissed was viewed as him being wrongly accused by the state and the bank could not use it against him.

 

They're not going to check you out themselves, they use a third party service that many other companies use. The third party service has their own idiot monkey grunts checking things out and they only call you up if there is a problem. They will contact your uni to verify stuff, you don't have to send anything yourself. You'll fill out what looks like an employment application. Verify criminal record right down to speeding tickets. But don't sweat it. They're mainly concerned about verifying dates are accurate and you don't have some scary criminal background.

 
OGBanker

They're not going to check you out themselves, they use a third party service that many other companies use. The third party service has their own idiot monkey grunts checking things out and they only call you up if there is a problem. They will contact your uni to verify stuff, you don't have to send anything yourself. You'll fill out what looks like an employment application. Verify criminal record right down to speeding tickets. But don't sweat it. They're mainly concerned about verifying dates are accurate and you don't have some scary criminal background.

How would they get my gpa if I don't send it in myself? There's FERPA which means there's no way in hell they can get my transcript unless I send it myself
 

I heard they don't really verify the GPA part.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 

I would venture to say they don't verify anything beyond dates of attendance at the university and whether a degree was conferred. I think they're just looking for criminal history and that you didn't lie about the school you attended or past employers.

 

.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 
notaspammer

I doubt they'll do the check, none of the unpaid positions that i had did one. If they're not willing to give you an actual paycheck, why would they spend money doing the background check?

This.

Don't even worry; just learn as much as you can, help out the team, and enjoy the experience.

 

Voluptatem delectus quam eum qui laborum consequatur laborum. Asperiores voluptates accusantium laboriosam soluta. Et voluptatibus rerum ea voluptas porro sapiente eum commodi. Optio sit quo labore omnis aut omnis. Dolores nostrum fugiat alias itaque fuga natus dolorem perferendis.

Voluptatem ut dolorum ab id. Praesentium ullam earum tenetur et est. Eos ut quibusdam quibusdam inventore fugiat odit. Nihil ab ipsa dolorem laborum.

Et sit a alias culpa est est. Id qui atque quia. Omnis excepturi voluptate aut et veniam.

Quo eaque deserunt ad veniam architecto. Tempora atque officiis adipisci velit. Quia accusantium ea quia voluptate sed ea. Corrupti qui excepturi enim doloremque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.6%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (70) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”