According to FINRA, David Wei Wong was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he converted and misused $9,430.75 in customer funds.
The complaint alleges that Wong initially converted $3,230.75 from a Roth individual retirement account (IRA) belonging to a customer at his member firm. The customer was married to a former registered representative at the firm who had passed away. At the time of the customer's husband's death, he and the firm were respondents in two FINRA customer arbitrations related to his sales activities, and Wong was a respondent in one of these arbitrations. Wong allegedly transferred the funds from the customer's account into the firm's bank account without asking her permission or obtaining her approval. The account statement indicated the charge was for a FINRA Arbitration, but the customer did not authorize the transfer and the funds did not belong to Wong or the firm.
The complaint further alleges that Wong converted $6,200 from a trust account established for the benefit of two customers when he transferred the account's funds into the firm's bank account. The customers were the children and heirs to firm customers who had passed away. Wong allegedly directed a clearing firm to take the funds from the trust account without permission or approval from the customers after their attorney wrote a letter to the firm complaining about its handling of the customers' parents' accounts after they passed away. The account statement described the charges as a $5,000 FINRA fine complaint fee and a $1,200 FINRA investigation fee. Neither of the customers authorized the transfer and Wong allegedly knew that the funds did not belong to him or the firm.
Conversion of customer funds is one of the most serious violations in the securities industry. It represents outright theft and a complete breach of the trust that customers place in their brokers. The allegations that Wong took money from customer accounts to pay for arbitration costs or fees related to complaints about the firm is particularly egregious—customers should never be charged for the firm's regulatory or legal costs.
It is important to note that this is a complaint, not a finding of guilt. Wong will have the opportunity to respond to these allegations and defend himself. However, if the allegations are proven, conversion of customer funds typically results in a permanent bar from the industry and potential criminal prosecution.