The Strange Case of Art Nadel

March 25, 2009

The Real "Scoop" on the Arthur Nadel Fraud

Why is Art Nadel's criminal case being prosecuted in New York City by the same Zionist prosecutor who is handling the Madoff fraud?  What is the real reason Nadel's $350 million alleged "Ponzi" case is being handled in the U.S. Federal Court in Manhattan?  Nadel's criminal operation was based in Sarasota, Florida.  Is Israel Discount Bank of New York involved in this scam too?

 The Strange Case of Art Nadel
March 25, 2009

Foster [Nadel's attorney] said he does not know why Nadel was charged in New York instead of Tampa. He speculated that federal prosecutors in New York consider themselves specialists in this type of case.
- "Nadel ordered to New York," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, February 3, 2009

Among the slew of investment scams that surfaced in the wake of the Bernard Madoff fraud is the strange case of Arthur G. Nadel.  Nadel's operation, which was based in Sarasota, Florida, is odd for several reasons.  One of them is the fact that Nadel is being held in the same jail in New York City as Bernard Madoff and is being prosecuted by the same prosecutor, Lev L. Dassin, although Nadel's criminal activity was clearly based in Florida.  Another interesting fact about Nadel is that he became the owner of the Venice Jet Center, a flight school where some of the "9-11 hijackers" had trained previously, under different ownership.  And then there is the coincidence that his oddly-named investment company, Scoop Management, Inc., which traded through Goldman Sachs in New York City, has the exact same name as an Israeli-owned company that is a long-standing customer at Israel Discount Bank (IDB) of New York.  IDB, a private bank controlled by the Bronfman family, is known for its practice of money laundering and illegal money transfers of billions of dollars.

WHY WAS NADEL TAKEN TO NEW YORK?

In early February, a federal judge named Mark A. Pizzo denied a motion without comment to keep the Nadel case in Sarasota, Florida. Nadel's attorney Todd A. Foster had filed an emergency motion to stay Nadel's removal to New York City, where he was charged with securities fraud and wire fraud charges.  As the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of February 3, 2009 reported:

Pizzo signed a "warrant of removal" Monday that directs the U.S. marshal to transport Nadel to the Southern District of New York to stand trial.

While the alleged Ponzi scheme was based in Sarasota, Nadel was charged by federal prosecutors in that district because he traded his six hedge funds through a broker in New York City, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office there.

Foster said he does not know why Nadel was charged in New York instead of Tampa. He speculated that federal prosecutors in New York consider themselves specialists in this type of case.

"I would have expected there are plenty of very competent prosectors in this area who could have handled this case," he said.

The federal government "has an enormous amount of discretion in choosing the jurisdiction," said Ellen Podgor, a Stetson University law professor who specializes in international criminal law.

One possible reason for federal prosecutors to pick New York is that there may be a broader investigation already under way there, and that Nadel fits into it. Another is simply that the U.S. attorneys in that district, which takes in Wall Street, are very experienced in white-collar crime.

There is the possibility that Nadel's criminal case will be settled through some kind of plea agreement, Podgor said, adding that the parallel civil fraud case being tried in Tampa could become part of the New York case.

WHO IS SCOOP MANAGEMENT INC.?

Arthur Nadel's investment company had the odd-sounding name, Scoop Management, Inc. and was located at 1618 Main Street in Sarasota, Florida.  This name struck me as being quite odd when I first read about Nadel's scam.  It is unlike the names of the funds he operated and there didn't seem to be any logical reason for Nadel to call his investment company Scoop Management.  Nadel's Scoop Management was incorporated on April 17, 2001 in the State of Florida and Arthur Nadel was registered as the agent.

What is even more peculiar about Scoop Management, Inc. is that there is an Israeli-owned company with the exact same name doing business in Florida.  The Israeli company is based in New York, where Nadel did all of his trading, according to the criminal complaint.  The Israeli-owned Scoop Management, Inc. is connected to a retail clothing business called Scoop, and is owned by an Israeli named Uzi Ben-Abraham and is located in New York City at 532 Broadway. 

Uzi Ben-Abraham
President of Scoop Management Inc.

Ben-Abraham's American business partner is a conservative Jew named Stefani Greenfield.  Ms Greenfield grew up in Bayside, Queens.  Her mother reportedly ran a methadone clinic in the South Bronx for 25 years, and her dad was in public relations. She attended public schools, including Stuyvesant, and the conservative synagogue at the Bay Terrace Jewish Centre.

The Israeli-owned Scoop Management, Inc. is the parent company of Scoop Management LLC and Scoop Shore Club LLC, which were incorporated in Florida, on January 10, 2006, and December 27, 2005, respectively.  Ben-Abraham is also the owner of Scoop Shore Club Inc., incorporated in Florida on September 27, 1999, and located at 1901 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach at the Shore Club Hotel.

This may be only a coincidence or it could be how millions of dollars invested with Nadel's Scoop Management, Inc. disappeared without a trace.  With two companies using the exact same name it would be possible for funds sent to Nadel's company to be transferred to the Israeli-owned company with the same name.  Asked if it was legal for two companies with the same name to be registered in Florida, the department of business records told me that between 1999 and 2006 there was a legal loophole that made it possible to establish a LLC in the state using the same name as another company.  Were millions of dollars sent to Nadel's Scoop Management deposited into the account of the Israeli-owned company with the same name doing business with Israel Discount Bank?  If that is the case we probably won't hear about it from the prosecution led by Lev Dassin.  Is this the real reason the Nadel case was ordered to New York City?  Why else has the case been taken away from Florida, where Nadel's criminal enterprise was based?

The Israeli-owned Scoop Management, Inc. is a prized customer at the Israel Discount Bank of New York, which is a bank known for money laundering and illegal wire transfers.  On January 16, 2006, for example, the Israeli business news outlet Globes online reported that the Israel Discount Bank of New York had been caught laundering $2 billion from South American depositors.  Arie Sheer, the general manager of IDBNY was put on paid leave "under protest," Globes reported.

Uzi Ben-Abraham, the president of Scoop Management has a promotional testimonial in the IDBNY's annual report for 2007, where he says:  "We've been a customer for about five years and the experience so far has been great."

Scoop's testimonial in IDB's annual report 2007

Sources:

Hielscher, John, "Nadel ordered to New York," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, February 3, 2009