Arthur Nadel, the missing Florida money manager who is suspected of cheating investors out of millions of dollars, was named “America’s Top Ranked Money Manager” in 2003. According to Reuters, that title was bestowed on Nadel by The Wall Street Digest.
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.
Of course, much has changed since Nadel was hailed by The Wall Street Digest. The fund manager disappeared on Jan. 14, just a day before he was to deliver a $50 million payout to investors. So far, about 45 have made complaints to law enforcement authorities about Nadel since his disappearance.
Nadel left what has been called a suicide note, where he sounded distraught, and apologized for losing his investor’s money. But no one believes he committed suicide, and the FBI is looking for him.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also 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.
