Fla. financier said to owe $50 million

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Around the same time he mysteriously vanished, hedge-fund manager Arthur G. Nadel owed a $50 million payout to some investors, an accountant said yesterday.

Instead, they learned their money was gone -- and now they're left asking if it was a bad investment or if they were scammed.

The search for Nadel entered its sixth day as more investors contacted authorities with concerns that their savings, and Nadel, were gone forever. Nadel's green Subaru was found in a parking lot at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Thursday, and he left his family a note in which he appeared to be distraught, said Lt. Chuck Lesaltato of the Sarasota County Sheriff's office.

Nadel, 75, was expected to deliver a $50 million redemption that day to investors in the six hedge funds he managed, said Michael Zucker, an internal accountant for Scoop Management Inc., where Nadel traded.

If Nadel was nervous about the payment, he didn't show it, Zucker said.

Investors and police said Nadel or a partner would often meet potential clients in person and would promise big returns.

Dave Couvertier, a special agent with the FBI in Tampa, confirmed that investigators are reviewing the case. The Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment. Nadel has not been charged.

The investigation comes on the heels of two high-profile financial fraud cases. Investigators say Bernard Madoff devastated investors of some $50 billion last year. And last week, Indiana money manager Marcus Schrenker was apprehended in Florida after allegedly trying to stage his death in a plane crash as investigators probed his businesses.