WOONG SEONG HWANG Fined and Suspended by FINRA

WOONG SEONG HWANG (PETER HWANG, WOONG HWANG) CRD#: 4400271, has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended for 45 business days (7/6/2021 - 9/7/2021) by FINRA.  FINRA also stated that they have added a sanction that Hwang, within 90 days of his re-association with a FINRA member firm, will attend and satisfactorily complete 20 hours of continuing education regarding anti-money laundering from a provider that is acceptable to FINRA.
Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, WOONG SEONG HWANG consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he allegedly falsely certified in his member firm's electronic account opening system that a client, a non-United States citizen residing in Korea, was a United States citizen who resided in New Jersey.
According to FINRA’s findings, because the client did not satisfy the minimum balance requirement for foreign accounts, WOONG SEONG HWANG and the client allegedly agreed to use the New Jersey address of a mutual friend to open a domestic account for the client. Later, the firm opened sub-accounts for the client after Hwang again allegedly certified that the information recorded in the firm's systems regarding the client's citizenship and address was accurate. FINRA stated that Hwang's conduct also caused the firm to maintain inaccurate books and records.
In a recent article in Financial Advisor IQ, they stated that the former Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc advisor, WOONG SEONG HWANG, was discharged in July of 2017 from Merrill Lynch, for allegedly violating the, “Know Your Customer” requirements for accounts. In May 2009, while registered with Merrill Lynch, Woong Seong Hwang allegedly opened an account for his client who Hwang allegedly knew was residing in Korea and wasn’t a U.S. citizen. Hwang then allegedly certified the information about the residency and citizenship when opening sub-accounts for the same client in 2014 and 2016, according to the article.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, WOONG SEONG HWANG, has been registered in the securities industry for 19 years.  He has 4 disclosures on his CRD report.  Hwang has been listed with 4 firms. He is currently registered with the following firm since 8/8/2017 both as a broker and financial advisor:
SNOWDEN ACCOUNT SERVICES LLC
540 MADISON AVE 9TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10022
He was previously registered first as a broker then also as a financial advisor with:
11/19/2002 - 08/02/2017 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc - NEW YORK, NY
If you’ve experienced financial losses due to the actions or recommendations of WOONG SEONG HWANG, formerly with Merrill Lynch and currently with Snowden Account Services, both of New York, NY, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group works on a contingency fee basis and represents our clients nationwide before FINRA.
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