NY Broker Gets 70 Months for $686K Wire Fraud, Identity Theft
A New York-based broker has been sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding clients he initially lured from his time as a rep for Merrill Lynch and Pinnacle Investments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Dean Dellas, 42, of Cazenovia, N.Y., pled guilty in March to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for defrauding investment clients of approximately $686,000.
First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the sentencing this week.
“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Dellas’s conduct,” Sarcone said in a statement. “By manipulating client documents and misusing the authority he was given, Dellas undermined the integrity of the investment process and caused significant financial harm.”
According to court documents and FINRA and SEC records, Dellas was a broker and investment advisor at Merrill Lynch’s Syracuse office between 2008 and September 2013, and he subsequently worked as a dually registered advisor with Pinnacle Investments until February 2021.
Dellas admitted that from June 2021 through November 2023, he acted as a financial advisor for investment accounts of clients in the Syracuse area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The prosecutors said that Dellas fraudulently induced clients to sign paperwork authorizing excessive advisor fees and granting him trading and withdrawal authority over their accounts.
The account-opening paperwork misrepresented Dellas’s relationship to clients and falsely stated that he received no compensation for providing investment advice.
To conceal the fraud, Dellas took steps to hide account statements from clients and at times impersonated clients in communications with brokerage firms, he admitted.
Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes ordered Dellas to pay $686,797 in restitution to victims and imposed a two-year term of supervised release following his prison term.
