Lowell Vincent Kruger of Bloomington, Minnesota, a stockbroker registered with Avantax Investment Services Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related complaint filed on December 28, 2022, in which the customer requested compensation based upon allegations that Kruger made unsuitable recommendations of variable annuities during the time that Kruger was associated with Avantax Investment Services Inc. The securities broker dealer denied this complaint.
Public Disclosure also shows that Kruger has been fined $2,500.00 and suspended for 15 days from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity because Kruger impersonated a customer. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066677701 (December 29, 2021).
According to the AWC, in April 2020, Avantax submitted a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) which severed its ties with Kruger. A subsequent amendment to this form filed in May 2020 revealed that Kruger had resigned during an ongoing internal investigation into allegations that he had impersonated a customer. FINRA learned that before October 8, 2019, a customer of Avantax approached Kruger with the request to facilitate an annuity surrender.
In 2019, Kruger made five telephone calls to the annuity company, falsely presenting himself as the customer. During these conversations, he offered the customer’s personal details for verification. As a result of these actions, he successfully achieved the annuity surrender. At no point did the customer authorize Kruger to pose as him during interactions with the annuity firm. Kruger violated FINRA Rule 2010.
Kruger was associated with Avantax Investment Services Inc. as a stockbroker from September 15, 2016, to April 24, 2020. He was associated with Packerland Brokerage Services Inc. from April 23, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Since January 7, 2022, he has been associated with St. Bernard Financial Services Inc.
