Judge orders sale of Nadel property

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continued its quest to repay victims of deceased Ponzi-schemer Arthur Nadel with a July real estate sale, according to court documents.

On July 18 United States District Judge Richard Lazzara authorized the sale of a five-acre tract of land that sits on Fruitville Road east of I-75, that once belonged to Nadel. Pearl M. Fitzgerald bought the parcel, which houses a 2,500-square-foot building at 15576 Fruitville Road, for $181,600 July 22, according to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser website.

Nadel, who robbed hundreds of Sarasotans through a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $160 million, died last year at the Butler Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina while serving a 14-year prison term at the age of 79.