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Arthur Nadel's Partners in the Spotlight

Apr 14, 2009 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP

Arthur Nadel's partners, Neil and Chris Moody, have been targeted by a receiver charged with recovering assets for defrauded investors.  According to an interim report released by receiver Burton Wiand on April 3, it is clear that he will take legal action against the Moodys to gain control of assets tied to Nadel's failed  hedge funds.

Arthur Nadel was president of Sarasota-based Scoop Management. The hedge 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 partners, Neil and Chris Moody.

Nadel disappeared on January 14, 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.

Nadel turned himself in to the FBI in Tampa in late January. He has been charged with one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, Nadel could face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge.

When Nadel disappeared in January, it was Neil Moody who informed his 600 investors that the money they invested in Scoop's hedge funds had disappeared. According to HeraldTribune.com, though the Moodys have denied knowing anything about the Ponzi scheme, many of Nadel's investors claim that the Moody's were their primary contact.  According to Wiand, Nadel and the Moodys both represented that the hedge funds' trading activity generated more than $272 million in gains when" they actually lost $18.4 million.

According to HeraldTribune.com, Wiand claims that the three Viking funds the Moody's managed with Nadel had  results ranging from a 4 percent annualized gain to a 24.5 percent per year loss.  But the Moody's told their investors that returns for the funds were much higher.

While it is clear that the Moody's will have to deal with legal action taken by the receiver, it is now known if U.S. prosecutors might seek criminal charges against the two.  The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting Nadel, will only say its investigation is ongoing.  According to HeraldTribune.com, both Moodys have already given statements to the U.S. Attorney.