Is IB Possible? Top MBA but possible legal issues

I'm a first year MBA student at a target school (Top 5) and wonder if full-time IB recruiting for Associate positions is possible (and advisable). Pre-MBA, I worked in finance (back office to front office) and have my CFA. So certainly, the quant skills are there. I grew up in NYC so IB seems like a great fit for me, not only professionally but personally as well. However, I will be doing a consulting internship this summer (not the Big 3) and did not recruit for IB *at all* last fall. Why would I all of a sudden be interested in IB when I was not before?

Two years ago, I was arrested for misdemeanor fraud. Long story short, I was a ticket scalper and was accused of selling fraudulent tickets. The case was eventually dismissed (false accusation) so I don't have a criminal record. However, I do have an arrest record for fraud and do have to disclose it if I were to recruit for IB. My thought process was - "Why would a bank hire someone with an arrest record for fraud when there are plenty of other qualified applicants without one?" That is why originally, I didn't recruit for IB during the fall.

Now, with a consulting internship (and possibly FT offer) under my belt, I may be "playing with house money" here and wonder if I should throw my hat in the IB ring this fall? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

7 Comments
 
Ticking

Now, with a consulting internship (and possibly FT offer) under my belt, I may be "playing with house money" here and wonder if I should throw my hat in the IB ring this fall? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

my advice is that you absolutely should not you could potentially lose everything if your arrest came back up as an issue again all you would get is maybe an extra 30-50k per year

not worth it

.
 

You have a clean record. People get through with much worse. You're fine.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 
"reformed"
CountryUnderdog wrote:

You have a clean record. People get through with much worse. You're fine.

Correct me if I'm wrong OP, but it sounds like you went through some sort of pretrial diversion /deferred adjudication program. This often still needs to be disclosed, though I have no idea how it's treated.

No pretrial diversion / deferred adjudication program - charges were dropped and case was dismissed (never went to trial). You are correct in that (for FINRA/FDIC purposes) it needs to be disclosed.

 

Reiciendis sunt dolorum inventore eligendi. Corrupti ullam inventore ullam unde. Consequatur voluptatem ut qui quaerat ad.

Et dolorum a magni dolor. Ullam placeat enim quia eos molestiae dolorum quo. Saepe nostrum mollitia impedit aut aliquam.

Accusantium perspiciatis adipisci soluta quae. Officia quasi placeat et maiores iure velit facilis. Molestias et sequi veritatis illum tempore excepturi. Et sit pariatur nobis a laudantium sequi voluptas.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”