Kander stops St. Louis attorney from securities business

Agreement includes law license surrender

Secretary of State Jason Kander has ordered a St. Louis lawyer and her associates to stop selling investments in Missouri.

Kander's order also requires Lisa D. Krempasky to agree to the suspension of her law license in Missouri. A lawyer since 1991, she cannot reapply to practice law in the state for three years.

But only the state Supreme Court can order a license suspension or revocation, and no case involving Krempasky's license had been filed, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to Case.net, the state court system's online case reporting system.

The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel generally is involved in investigations of complaints against lawyers.

Krempasky is not listed in the Missouri Bar's current directory of lawyers. Supreme Court spokeswoman Beth Riggert explained she went on "inactive" status on Jan. 28, then was suspended administratively on March 1, along with a number of other attorneys around the state, for failing to complete their continuing education requirements.

No matter what the secretary of state's consent order says, Riggert added, "The (Supreme) Court considers each disciplinary matter on its own merits and will issue whatever decision it deems appropriate."

The secretary of state's Securities Division has legal authority to regulate and investigate the sale of securities in the state. But Krempasky was not registered to sell investments in Missouri.

The nine-page consent order, signed May 23 by Securities Commissioner Andrew Hartnett, reports that Krempasky and others sold promissory notes to two St. Lousi area investors in 2004 or 2005, with assurances of a 20 percent per year return on the investment.

Krempasky didn't disclose that she was not registered to sell those securities nor that the securities had not been registered.

The consent order mandates Krempasky pay a total of $5,000 in restitution.

It also contains a $10,000 civil penalty, and a separate $10,000 charge "as the cost of this investigation."

However, both of those payments are suspended and won't have to be paid, as long as Krempasky complies "with the securities act for a period of three years."