Misrepresentation of Age (fake id)

I know this topic has been brought up before, but my circumstance is a little different compared to the stuff that has been answered before. I recently received a "misrepresentation of age" citation for using a fake id to buy a beer at a bowling alley (I know, sounds stupid). It's considered a class C misdemeanor here in Texas. I was very compliant with the Texas ABC officer and said he could keep the ID. It's coming to the time where I need to figure out how I'm going to go about this. I know I broke the law and I will have to face some kind of punishment, but I know that this on my record will hurt my IB chances and obtaining any financial licenses, convicted or not. I know of friends who have had similar tickets that went into court without a lawyer and explained to the judge how he knows he did wrong and it wont happen again, they both were able to get off with community service hours and nothing on their records. If I go the lawyer route (differed adjudication then expungement), then it will be dragged out for months and could hurt internship opportunities for this summer. I also have read that even if it expunged, it will still show up for FINRA. Any one have any experience with this and any advice to give on what I should do?

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Don't knock it til you try it.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

It's actually really fun. Bowling alleys usually have great drink specials too -- they kind of have to at this point. Most times I've been there drinking with buddies before the bars I see around 3-4 other parties doing the same.

To answer OP: Don't sweat this at all. First off, if you get a lawyer it will NOT be drawn out for months. It will be taken care of the day of your hearing. I've gotten this same charge and another for underage drinking and I just paid the fine. I've had 3 background checks since and nothing has came up (I don't know anything about FINRA). You should not be giving a shit about this. Just keep doing your thing.

Don't beat yourself up on this, Eric. Some people like taking the long way home. Who the fuck knows?
 

I got a misdemeanor my freshman year and it didn’t affect me in recruiting at all.

To be safe, however, I chose to go through the plea in abeyance process which allows your record to be wiped clean after a year or so.

Just a warning about this though (and laws are going to vary because I wasn’t in Texas), the process is a mess. After the year it probably took me another 8-10 months just to go through the expungement process and officially have it off my record. You don’t have any reason to worry though, I didn’t have any issues with background checks during recruiting.

 
"RelocationBB" I got a misdemeanor my freshman year and it didn’t affect me in recruiting at all.

To be safe, however, I chose to go through the plea in abeyance process which allows your record to be wiped clean after a year or so.

Just a warning about this though (and laws are going to vary because I wasn’t in Texas), the process is a mess. After the year it probably took me another 8-10 months just to go through the expungement process and officially have it off my record. You don’t have any reason to worry though, I didn’t have any issues with background checks during recruiting.

I've talked to a few lawyers and they said it would be 60-90 days differed adjunction and then another month or two for expunction. Compared to if I went in there without a lawyer with a sympathetic speech and having it hopefully removed without a trace, but that's gambling...

 

Lmao dude you're fine. I got an MIP sophomore year, even reported it for my internship's background check (while the citation was still on) and nothing ever happened, never heard about it.

I took the deferred adjudication route too. You don't need a lawyer and you don't get it expunged. The ticket gets dismissed. It should not be on your record. Fake ID stuff is very unlikely to be any different from MIP since it's Class C

edit: be prepared for a long process though mine took 6+ months all in all to get it resolved

 
"monkey2121" Lmao dude you're fine. I got an MIP sophomore year, even reported it for my internship's background check (while the citation was still on) and nothing ever happened, never heard about it.

I took the deferred adjudication route too. You don't need a lawyer and you don't get it expunged. The ticket gets dismissed. It should not be on your record. Fake ID stuff is very unlikely to be any different from MIP since it's Class C

edit: be prepared for a long process though mine took 6+ months all in all to get it resolved

Did you not get a lawyer and did you receive the citation in Texas?

 

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What concert costs 45 cents? 50 Cent feat. Nickelback.
 

I would get a lawyer. Call FINRA (Statutory disqualification program in member regulation and they will tell you that the fake id charge will be a problem

 

I don't mean to minimize this but I know people who have MUCH more serious drinking offenses (i.e. DUI) and it wasn't an issue. They weren't expunged either.

That said, I'm not saying not to take it seriously... but this isn't exactly a deathblow to having a successful career. If the Texas professional world won't have you, this is small beans compared to the stuff I saw in CA.

 

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