Sung Moo Cho: FINRA Bars Citi Advisor After Misappropriation Complaint

Former New York City financial advisor Sung Moo Cho (CRD# 5015906) was recently sanctioned and barred in connection with misappropriation allegations. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he was most recently registered as a broker with Citi, having previously been registered with Ameriprise Financial Services.

A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (No. 2026090120801) describes FINRA’s disciplinary action against Mr. Cho. Filed in June 2026, it states that the regulator’s investigation into his conduct originated with a customer complaint alleging that he “misappropriated approximately $3.5 million from the customer’s brokerage accounts.”

The investigation concerned not only the misappropriation allegations but also alleged forgery of customer signatures and falsifications of firm documents while he was registered with Ameriprise and Citi. In connection with its investigation, FINRA sent him requests to produce information, which he eventually informed FINRA that he would not comply with. FINRA found that his refusal violated FINRA Rule 8210, which requires persons under the regulator’s jurisdiction to comply with such requests. In connection with these findings, FINRA barred him from associating with any member firm in any capacity.

Mr. Cho’s BrokerCheck report discloses his termination from Citi. Filed in April 2026, the disclosure states that the firm fired him in connection with allegations that he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation, and that he removed a customer’s “personally identifiable information from firm systems to create non-firm generated statement that was provided to a client as well as refusal to cooperate with an internal investigation.”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Sung Moo Cho holds 19 years of securities industry experience. Most recently based in New York City, he was last registered as a broker with Citigroup Global Markets, or Citi, from 2025 until 2026. His registration history includesAmeriprise Financial Services, Joseph Stone Capital, Mutual of America Life Insurance Company, Mutual of America Securities, Cuso Financial Services, Wells Fargo Advisors, Chase Investment Services, Merrill Lynch, and Andrew Garrett. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66; the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He has been barred from acting as a broker. (Information current as of June 26, 2026.)

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