Sarasota Ponzi scheme leader dies

A federal prison in North Carolina has confirmed that Sarasota money investment manager Art Nadel died Monday.

Nadel, who robbed hundreds of Sarasotans through a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $160 million, died at the Butler Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina while serving a 14-year prison term. Nadel’s cause of death has not been released, but he battled heart problems for years and was in the prison’s hospice unit when he died. He was 79.

Nadel ran six hedge funds from a downtown Sarasota office that fell apart in January 2009, revealing that he had scammed hundreds of area residents. Nadel, who fled town, turned himself in and plead guilty to 15 federal counts of federal fraud in February 2010.

The Ponzi scheme, that involved 400 investors and also involved partners Neil and Christopher Moody, is the largest investment scandal ever recorded in the Southwest Florida area. Nadel inflated hedge funds that were valued at $500,000 to more than $330 million before the scam came crashing down.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].