Internship offer with prior misdemeanor that was expunged
I’ve been reading other posts about this but wanted to get some opinions on how to handle my situation.
Long story short- when I was 18, I made a very stupid decision. I was dorming in college and found that the dorm room next to mine was empty. I was able to get in using an electronic key and treated it like a hangout space. One day, I thought it would be funny to move a piece of furniture from that room into my own.
The school found out, and I was arrested. I went to court, and the judge closed the case on the condition that I complete community service. After completing everything required, the case was dismissed and later expunged. I moved on with my life.
Fast forward 8 years- I’ve turned things around and returned to school. I currently have an investment banking internship lined up at a BB this summer.
I never really thought about FINRA fingerprinting or that expunged records could still potentially show up in regulated background checks. After doing some research, it looks like FINRA background checks may be more thorough than standard third-party checks.
Before realizing this, I filled out a pre-hire compliance form through the bank’s portal. The form asked about prior criminal history. I quickly went through it and clicked “No” to all questions. After submitting, I went back and carefully read the wording, and one question specifically mentioned being “charged with… wrongful taking of property.”
I am now worried because I was charged, even though I wasm't convicted and I can't edit the form after submission.
I have already ordered my FBI identity summary to see exactly what will show up on my record. I also plan to talk to my lawyer about how expungement is treated in background checks.
I’m trying to figure out the best course of action.
I was considering:
- Reaching out immediately and saying I made a mistake and need to update my form
- Waiting to receive my FBI report first, then deciding how to proceed
- Waiting for the background check process to reveal it and then addressing it if asked
I am in no way trying to hide the truth - I just want to say what has to be said and leave it behind me.
Any advice from people who have dealt with FINRA compliance or similar situations would be appreciated.
This is a pretty wild and anxiety inducing situation, bumping for visibility
Bumping good luck bro
good luck man
ur going to be fine. finra stat disqual is only for felonies & securities-related misdemeanors.
fbi bgc is usually instant -- like literally the second you leave the post office instant. have u gotten a chance to see what came up on it ?
Yea I got it back - came back with no prior arrests. Clean record! I feel much much better - I am def in the clear and can put this behind me. Thank you for helping me chill out on this lol
i know how it feels man hahaha. i remember fbi'ing myself after my expungement was official and it was nice to see
Been there, my friend (albeit a different silly mistake). At the end of the day there may be some paperwork and some annoying emails, but you will be fine – full stop. As long as you did not commit a felony or a securities-related misdemeanor, you will be fine. Take a deep breath. I know the haze you are feeling, trust me.
I had a non-financial-related misdemeanor that was later expunged via community service. I was 100% fine despite submitting this to my bank. I disclosed mine because my bank is much more stringent. They require you to submit any and all misdemeanors, even if they are not related to financial crimes, so I submitted mine for avoidance of doubt.
In fact, funny enough, to show you how unimportant this is
---> the only reason I had a headache with my bank is because they could not find a record of it lmao
I had to go to the courthouse and get records of the expungement because they could not locate the case.
Point being you are fine. Just read the fine print and make sure you are covered. Deadass use ChatGPT to see the fine print on language reqs.
why did u disclose if it got expunged just curious
lol just guessing this is GS
Congrats on UBS
Nah unironically this time 😂😂😂 this background check is deep as fuck
Bumping. Good luck man
Chiming in because I had something of a penchant for minor misdemeanors during my undergrad years… you’re going to be fine.
If it makes you feel any better, one night I was absolutely ramshackled and somehow managed to swap wallets with a buddy who ended up leaving the bars before I did. On my way out, a cop stopped me and asked for my ID. While I didn’t whip out a fake, I pulled out another dude’s actual ID… though good chance I tried to argue that it was me, not sure.
Long story short, I ended up with a fraudulent identification charge that got expunged right at the buzzer while I was recruiting for finance roles. THAT could have been in the scope of what FINRA is typically sniffing around for... You’re good.
Feel bad for you bro. Insane how 20x repeat violent offenders get to roam around but you get in trouble with the law for a textbook university prank.
How do you even get arrested for this haha. Seems like you could’ve just given the furniture back. My sense is there may also be someone on the other side of the argument who is just not a chiller at all and made it a much bigger deal than it needed to be lol
Ur fine was in same boat
I was charged with misdemeanor assault when I was 18 (bar fight) and had it "sealed due to youthful adjudication" in the state of New York. I have answered "no" to all of those questions for interview/hiring processes for 3 different banks and never had anything come back whatsoever.
Absolutely do not reach out to them about this. I am 99% sure you will be fine given "expunged" is a complete destruction of the record whereas "sealed" merely hides it from public view. Said differently, your odds are even better than mine were and I had zero issues.
I have a misdemeanor assault charge. It got dismissed but still on record due to the state I was in.
It did flag, but was passed eventually due to it not being disqualifying. You are fine, 20% of my analyst class seemingly has been arrested. I know it’s stressful but you’re fine
Def contact HR or compliance immediately to correct the mistake before the background check actually runs. FINRA checks are thorough, and self-disclosing a mistake looks infinitely better than them finding a discrepancy later. I dealt with a similar expungement scare a while back and actually used Wruble Law LLC just to double check how my state handles expunged records on federal checks. Getting that legal clarity helps big time. Just reach out to the bank, tell them you misread the specific wording on the property question, and ask to update it. Most BBs care way more about the honesty than an old, dismissed college prank.
So glad to see you updated that your FBI report came back totally clean! That background check stress is no joke, but congrats on getting it sorted out and good luck with the internship!
That relief after checking a clean FBI report is unmatched. Hope the IB internship is going great!
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