Minneapolis Review

An Edina financial adviser has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for her involvement in a wire fraud scheme, as announced by United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. Kristi Margaret Berge, 48, was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,104,395 and will serve two years of supervised release following her prison term.

Berge was the founder and CEO of Keep Safe Investments, LLC, also known as "KSI Financial," and co-owned J&K Connect LLC. Both companies operated out of Edina, Minnesota. She was registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and licensed as an investment adviser in Minnesota.

Court documents reveal that from June 2020 to February 2023, Berge misappropriated approximately $2.1 million from clients' accounts. She falsely assured clients their funds would be kept in secure investment accounts but instead withdrew amounts ranging from $5,000 to $220,000 for personal use. The funds were deposited into bank accounts she controlled and used to purchase properties for her real estate business.

To conceal her actions, Berge labeled the withdrawals as "management" or "administrative" fees and created false records suggesting she had authorization for these transactions. Earlier this year, Berge pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced by Judge Eric C. Tostrud in U.S. District Court.

The case resulted from an FBI investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Craig Baune.