Nadel has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Nadel has been unable to post a $5 million bond and  is currently being held at the Manhattan Correctional Center in New York City.  He faces charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, and if convicted could face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge.

According to CBS4 in Tampa, the court appointed receiver in Nadel's case has identified 80 individuals who received profits from the scam.  One investor has already agreed to return $10,000, the report said.

If investors do not return the money to the receiver, he could take legal action.  Under the bankruptcy code, trustees may sue investors for any fictional profits and principal they withdrew in the six years before a fraud was exposed.  Such proceedings are known as "claw back" lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones News Services is reporting that  Nadel finally has a lawyer for his criminal case. Last Wednesday U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox in Manhattan appointed Mark Gombiner, an attorney from the Federal Defenders of New York, Inc., to represent him.

Nadel owed the Florida law firm that had been representing him in his criminal case more than $93,000.  The firm had asked U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara to unfreeze $250,000 worth of Nadel’s assets to pay his current and future legal bills. In return, the firm had offered to represent him for a “deeply discounted” rate.  But Judge Lazzara refused, saying that doing so would be a “gross abuse of my discretion.”  

Following that decision,  Nadel's criminal attorneys dropped his case.  He was given a continuance until April 29 to find new representation.

According to Dow Jones, Nadel is representing himself in a separate civil case filed by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in Florida.

Nadel owed the Florida law firm that had been representing him in his criminal case more than $93,000.  Earlier this month, the firm had asked U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara to unfreeze $250,000 worth of Nadel’s assets to pay his current and future legal bills. In return, the firm had offered to represent him for a “deeply discounted” rate.  The firm had hinted that it would drop Nadel as a client if the assets were not released.

But Judge Lazzara refused, saying that doing so would be a “gross abuse of my discretion.”  If necessary, Lazzara said, Nadel could be represented by court-appointed counsel.

Under the continuance, prosecutors will have until April 29 to either get a guilty plea from Nadel, or to get an indictment.  The continuance will allow Nadel to find new representation while allowing the new legal team to “review certain pre-indictment discovery.”

Arthur Nadel was president of Scoop Management Inc., which managed six private investment funds. He 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 two weeks later. His was charged with one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud, and his case was moved to federal court in Manhattan. Nadel is in jail, having been unable to meet the conditions of a $5 million bond. If convicted, Nadel could face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge.

Nadel’s fraud is estimated to have cost his investors as much as $397 million.
 

• that no review of Nadel's operations had been conducted by any licensed independent accountant;
• that insufficient profits were being generated by the Nadel funds to pay reported returns; that Nadel and his companies were acting as investment advisor without required registration;
• and that the various Nadel funds were really being operated as a Ponzi scheme.

• reported returns that were considerably higher than normal
• no outside firm to verify the numbers
• no outside administrator to monitor the accounts and send out statements to investors

Keywords: Arthur Nadle Ponzi Scheme Lawyer Scoop Capital Management Security Fraud

The lawyers / attorneys at our firm are offering free consultations to victims of  Arthur Nadel's alleged Ponzi scheme.  The Florida hedge fund manager was arrested on securities fraud charges on January 27, 2009 after spending the previous two weeks on the run.

Before his arrest, Nadel ran Scoop Capital LLC and Scoop Management Inc., both based in Sarasota, Florida.  Through Scoop Management, he managed six private investment funds, including Viking IRA, Valhalla Investment Partners LP, Viking, Victory, Victory IRA and Scoop Real Estate.  Nadel claimed the funds were worth $342 million, but investigators now put their value at somewhere around $500,000. 

Nadel managed money for around 600 investors, and it is estimated that his fraud may have cost his clients as much as $350 million. As a result of his alleged fraud, hundreds of investors who trusted Arthur Nadel have seen their entire life savings evaporate. 

The Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme lawyers at our firm are committed to making sure victims of his scam receive the justice they deserve. If you lost money as a result of investing  with Arthur Nadel, you may be entitled to restitution.  Please contact one of our Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme lawyers as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.
 

Arthur Nadel Disappearance

Nadel's alleged Ponzi scheme first came to light after his family reported him missing on January 14, 2009.  He left what was termed a suicide note in which he sounded "distraught" and apologized for losing his clients' money.  However, it was immediately suspected that Nadel was alive and on the run.
 

After Nadel went missing, his partner, Neil Moody, told investors in a statement that the funds managed by Nadel “may have virtually no remaining value”. Moody apparently reported the situation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other authorities.
 

Following his disappearance, law enforcement officials in Florida began receiving scores of calls from angry investors.  Many had entrusted Nadel with their entire life savings and retirement funds.  A lieutenant with the  Sarasota police told The New York Times that “allegedly hundreds of millions of dollars” of investor money has gone missing.  One report said Nadel’s partners believed as much as $350 million had disappeared from the Scoop funds.
 

Nadel's disappearance occurred one day before he was supposed to distribute $50 million in payouts to investors.  The six funds Nadel managed had sustained losses in October 2008, but an internal accountant for Scoop Management told the Associated Press that Nadel did not seem nervous about the January redemption.
 

Other media outlets reported that Nadel had been putting off investors who requested withdraws in the weeks before his disappearance.  Reportedly, many investors who requested withdraws from their funds in December and January were told by Scoop employees they would have to wait until the January 15 redemption.  These investors said that in the past, Scoop had always processed their requests immediately.
 

After two weeks on the lam, Arthur Nadel finally surrendered to the FBI in Tampa,  Florida on January 27.  The FBI charged Nadel with securities fraud and wire fraud.  If convicted, Nadel faces 40 years in prison.
 

Following his arrest, the FBI said that Nadel would likely face more charges, and the scope of its fraud investigation against him would probably expand.  Investigators also said they were looking  to others and their knowledge about Nadel's Ponzi scheme. 
 

SEC Charges Against Nadel

While he was missing, the SEC charged Nadel with securities fraud. According to the SEC’s complaint, Nadel provided false and misleading information for dissemination to investors about the funds’ historical returns and falsely overstated the value of investments in the funds by approximately $300 million.
 

The SEC said the funds Nadel managed appeared to have total assets of less than $1 million. The complaint also alleged that prior to his disappearance, Nadel transferred at least $1.25 million from two of the funds to secret bank accounts that he controlled.
 

The SEC also charged that Scoop Capital LLC and Scoop Management, Inc., provided investment advice to all of the funds and also engaged in fraud as a result of Nadel’s actions.  Scoop Capital LLC and Scoop Management, Inc., were  named as relief defendants in the SEC complaint. 
 

 The SEC alleged that Nadel provided false and misleading information to the relief defendants for dissemination to investors through account statements and through offering memoranda.  For example:

• Offering materials for three of the funds represented that they had approximately $342 million in assets as of Nov. 30, 2008. In fact, those funds had a total of less than $1 million in assets at that time.

• Offering materials for at least several of the funds represented monthly returns of around 11 to 12 percent between January and November 2008. In fact, at least three of the funds had negative returns during that time and another fund had lower than reported returns.

• One investor in one fund received an account statement for November 2008 indicating that her investment was valued at almost $420,000. In fact, the entire fund had less than $100,000 at that time.

The SEC obtained a court order freezing Nadel's assets, as well as those of his funds.  A receiver has been appointed to examine assets and oversee any money left.  How much investors could ultimately recover is unknown.
 

Legal Help for Arthur Nadel Ponzi Scheme Victims

Our Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme lawyers have helped many security fraud victims in their struggle against unscrupulous hedge fund managers, brokers and others who have stolen their savings.  We will use every means available to make sure that Arthur Nadel's victims are compensated to the fullest extent possible.

If you suffered a financial loss because of Arthur Nadel's alleged fraud, you have valuable legal rights.  Please fill out our online form, or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with one of our Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme lawyers.