Dean Mustaphalli, a former Sterne Agee Financial Services Inc. broker, has been charged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.(FINRA) for allegedly operating a $6 million hedge fund, Mustaphalli Capital Partners, and receiving commissions without informing his firm.
Mustaphalli began his fund in 2011 and may be expelled by FINRA for allegedly operating the hedge fund without informing his brokerage. It has been reported that allegedly Mustaphalli solicited money from at least twenty-five investors during a six month period in 2011. From April - August of 2011, Mustaphalli allegedly received approximately $41,800 in management fees from the fund.
In a July 11th., 2014 article in InvestmentNews, Mason Braswell writes,
"The value of the fund, which invested in publicly traded equity and debt securities, has since declined by approximately 90%, according to Lars Soreide, an attorney who said he has filed two arbitration claims against Mr. Mustphalli and Sterne Agee."
The article goes on to say that, "FINRA said it was not clear if any of the investors were Sterne Agee customers but Mr. Soreide said one of his clients was. Mr. Mustaphalli was not cooperating with requests to provide account statements for the hedge fund, FINRA said."
According to the investigation, Dean Mustaphalli managed Mustaphalli Capital Partners through Mustaphalli Advisory Group. FINRA allows brokers to operate hedge funds, however, the fund must be fully disclosed, supervised and approved by the broker's member firm. (See FINRA Rule 3040).
DEAN S. MUSTAPHALLI (CRD# 2792038), according to FINRA's BrokerCheck, was previously registered with the following securities firm(s):
STERNE AGEE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. (CRD# 18456) - FOREST HILLS, NY
12/2009 - 09/2011
CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC. (CRD# 7059) - JAMAICA, NY
05/2007 - 12/2009
CITICORP INVESTMENT SERVICES (CRD# 23988) - JAMAICA, NY
07/1998 - 05/2007
PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES INCORPORATED (CRD# 7471) - NEW YORK, NY
03/1997 - 02/1998
ROYCE INVESTMENT GROUP, INC. (CRD# 10494) - WOODBURY, NY
09/1996 - 11/1996
Soreide Law Group represents their clients nationwide before FINRA. If you invested in Mustaphalli Capital Partners, and experienced losses, please call an attorney for a free consultation on how to potentially recover those losses: 888-760-6552.
Steven Graham (CRD 1977736) denies the allegations in a pending customer claim filed on August 11, 2026. The disclosure names Western International Securities as the firm, and the claim involves corporate bonds. No arbitrator has ruled on it. His BrokerCheck report also lists a settled bond dispute and a federal court matter from earlier years.
A claim filed on September 11, 2024 names Thomas Hamlin (CRD 2208505) over a 10% Senior Unsecured Note in iCap Fund III. Every disclosure on his BrokerCheck report involves an iCap private placement and names Somerset Securities as the firm. Each one settled, and a settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.
Peter Po's most recent settlement came on June 28, 2026, when a corporate bond claim settled for $40,000. Po (CRD 3106974) appears in several settled customer disputes over corporate and high-yield bonds. The disclosures name NI Advisors or California Securities as the firm, and each matter ended in a settlement, not a finding.
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