Fingerprinting background check with expunged record
Hi, i've accepted an internship offer at a BB for the summer and i'm expecting a fingerprinting / FBI background check.
Is there any cause for concern for someone who was charged as a juvenile (something I had done in highschool as a dumb kid), had the charges dropped as a result of juvenile diversion, and have had the record expunged? This was roughly ten years ago. For context, I have passed background checks and had a security clearance for DoD work.
My understanding is that expungement typically clears this up for charges not related to financial / securities theft. Can anyone provide insight / anecdotes?
Thanks!
If it’s expunged it won’t show up on any background checks unless: it’s a government organization or any child-care organization. Came from the lawyer that helped me
FINRA background checks go deeper than most traditional pre employment background screens. If you got DoD clearance you should be fine though.
If you read the U4 there are certain questions where they ask about arrests (rather than convictions) and even if court records had been sealed the arrests will still show up and you may get flagged for not reporting them which is the bigger issue. Speaking from personal experience.
Okay, good to know. Generally speaking expungement allows you to say no to questions like convicted/charged right?
I would ask a lawyer.
I dealt with an arrest as juvenile which was sealed through Y/O status and supposedly wiped but I still had to disclose on the U4 even though it’s as if it never happened to ever other type of background check. I’m not sure how something like an expungement differs from a sealed record for this purpose.
Thanks for the reply - I have done a bit of research regarding my state's laws (Kansas) ~ it seems they have stipulations regarding people applying to be brokers / financial advisors but the definitions surrounding this are somewhat unclear. Looking at a U4, my biggest concern is the "charged with a felony" question. I don't know what my response to this should be since these charges were not just dismissed as a result of diversion, but that I also took the extra step for expungement. Planning on getting some more professional opinions.
Edit: Also worth noting I don't believe I was ever arrested, or had fingerprints taken regarding this.
If you’re concerned about the FBI background check that FINRA runs with your fingerprints, you can do it yourself to see if you’re even in the FBI’s system
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks
Obviously not a lawyer, so take this advice with a grain of salt, but I believe FINRA only runs your name against the FBI database (which only contains a subset of arrest records, depending on your state). If you’re not in the FBI’s database, I don’t think FINRA will find you.
That doesn’t include your firm’s background check on you which will search at the state and county level. The good news about that background check is that by consumer protection federal laws, third-party background check companies must verify information at the official source before reporting anything to your firm. Even if they find your old mugshot on a random “arrest.com” type site, they would have to check with that court to verify the information. If your records were truly expunged at the state/court level, then the background check company couldn’t report the find back to your company.
Talking to a lawyer is probably a good idea, but just know that you’re almost definitely not screwed. For reference, I had a few misdemeanors (MIP & fake ID) expunged in South Carolina that my firm and FINRA never found out.
I was asked by an employer if I ever had been in a pre-trial avoidance program or had an expungement (and if yes to provide the case number and details). How is that even legal? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of an expungement? My records are sealed and expunged including my arrest record. Will I be ok?
If you have/had DoD clearance you are more then fine lmao
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