FINRA has sanctioned former Citi broker Fong I. Cheang for failing to properly update her Form U4 during her tenure at Citi after submitting pleas in response to felony charges.
Cheang has been involved in the securities business since 1996, when she became a representative at John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. She began working at Citicorp Investment Services starting in May 2005, and moved with the company to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. when a mass employee transfer occurred. In January 2010, Cheang resigned from Citigroup and was later employed at Wells Fargo Investments, LLC and Primevest Financial Services, Inc. and is now a representative at HSBC Securities (USA). Prior to being sanctioned, Cheang had not been involved in any FINRA disciplinary cases.
The felony charges that Cheang allegedly failed to report during her time at Citi stem from charges brought against her during an insurance fraud case that took place between May 2007 and November 2008. In 2006, Cheang was indicted for two felonies in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California and in February 2007, she pled not guilty to both charges. In May 2007, Cheang entered into a plea agreement in which she was charged with an additional felony and was required to pay $1,917 in restitution. Cheang then pled No Contest to the additional felony, but in November 2008, withdrew the plea. Subsequently, after withdrawing her plea, all charges against Cheang were dropped.
Cheang’s FINRA sanctions stem from the fact that, while at Citi, she failed to update her Form U4 to reflect her pleas to the felony charges brought against her. According to FINRA regulations, she should have taken this action to prevent the spread of deceptive information. Although Cheang did not properly update her form U4 while at Citi, she did divulge the information to her succeeding employers, including Wells Fargo Investments, Primevest Financial Services and HSBC, her present employer.
Although the violation was not deemed “willful” (she dodged a bullet there!), Cheang’s failure to revise her Form U4 while at Citi has prompted FINRA to fine her $5,000 and suspend her from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity for 15 months.
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