Former N.Y. Advisor Gets Nearly 6 Years For Defrauding Elderly Clients

A former Upstate New York advisor was sentenced to 70 months in prison for swindling thousands of dollars from his clients, including a 91-year-old woman who entrusted him with her life savings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York.

Dean Dellas, 42, of Cazenovia, N.Y., was also ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes to pay $686,797 in restitution and serve two years of supervised release after his release from prison. Dallas pleaded guilty in February to wire fraud and identity theft charges.

In a parallel civil case filed in May 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleged Dellas and DSD Capital Management, an entity he founded, stole more than $690,000 from at least two clients—a 61-year-old man and his 91-year-old mother who had entrusted him to manage nearly all of their life savings. The CFTC said Dellas “engaged in highly risky and ultimately unsuccessful futures trading” in the clients’ account without their knowledge, which resulted in thousands of dollars in trading losses and commissions.

Dellas acted as financial advisor for clients in the Syracuse, N.Y., area from about June 2021 through November 2023, at which time he fraudulently persuaded the clients to sign paperwork that authorized him “to take advisor fees from their accounts well in excess of what they actually agreed to,” prosecutors said in a press release.

Dellas also fraudulently induced the clients “to sign paperwork granting him trading and withdrawal authority over their accounts,” all while misrepresenting his relationship to the clients and lying to them that he is not compensated for providing investment advice.

The documents he induced the clients to sign also “falsely stated that the client wanted to engage in high-risk forms of investment,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that Dellas also admitted that he hid account statements from his clients and even impersonated them while communicating with brokerage firms. In all, he said he stole roughly $686,000 from his victims through unauthorized withdrawals and advisor fees.

According to BrokerCheck, Dellas began his career at Merrill Lynch’s Syracuse office in 2008 and resigned in September 2013 over “conduct involving failure to disclose a reportable event.” He joined Pinnacle Investments in 2013 and worked there until February 2021. He then moved to T3 Trading Group, where he worked for a year. He did not renew his registration license.

According to the indictment, Dellas met the clients while working as a registered broker at Merrill Lynch and continued the relationship when he moved to Pinnacle.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Dellas’s conduct,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. 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. This outcome underscores the importance of safeguarding investors and ensuring that those who misuse their positions face appropriate consequences.”