Arthur Nadel, the Florida money manager who has been missing since January 14, has been found and arrested in Florida. Nadel, who has been charged with securities fraud, apparently surrendered to the FBI in Tampa yesterday.
Nadel was president of Scoop Management Inc., a firm that managed six private investment funds. The funds managed by Scoop included Viking IRA, Valhalla Investment Partners LP, Viking, Victory, Victory IRA and Scoop Real Estate. Viking IRA, Valhalla and Viking funds were managed by Nadel under contract with his partner and Valhalla founder Neil Moody. The other three were Nadel’s own funds. Scoop Management managed money for around 600 investors.
Nadel disappeared a day before he was to deliver a $50 million payout to investors. He left his family a purported suicide note, but it was always suspected that Nadel was alive and on the run. Since his disappearance, scores of angry investors have made complaints to law enforcement authorities about Nadel.
Following his arrest, the FBI charged Nadel with one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, Nadel could face maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge.
There’s been no word yet of where Nadel spent the past two weeks. At his court appearance yesterday, Nadel’s lawyer asked that he be released on his own recognizance. But a federal judge refused, and Nadel will be held at least until Friday.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Nadel with fraud. According to the SEC’s complaint, the funds Nadel managed appear to have total assets of less than $1 million. The complaint also alleges that Nadel recently transferred at least $1.25 million from two of the funds to secret bank accounts that he controlled. According to the SEC, Nadel overstated the value of the funds by $300 million. The SEC has obtained an emergency court order freezing Nadel’s assets and appointing a receiver.
The SEC also filed emergency action against investment advisors Valhalla Management and Viking Management, as well as the six hedge funds involved in the case: Scoop Real Estate, Valhalla Investment Partners, Victory IRA Fund, Victory Fund, Viking IRA Fund and Viking Fund. Without admitting or denying the allegations, each of the investment advisors and hedge funds involved in the investigation have consented to the entry of preliminary injunctions, asset freezes and the appointment of a receiver, among other things, the SEC said.
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