Missing hedge fund manager turns self in

A Florida hedge fund manager who disappeared this month just as he was due to pay investors $50 million turned himself in to authorities Tuesday to face federal securities and wire fraud charges.

Arthur Nadel, accompanied by two attorneys, surrendered in Tampa, about an hour north of his home in Sarasota, the FBI said.

He was due in federal court later Tuesday afternoon. The FBI did not provide additional details about his surrender or where he has been for the past two weeks. Nadel’s attorney, Todd A. Foster, did not immediately respond to a telephone message left with his office.

Federal regulators sued Nadel last week for fraud, saying he misled investors and overstated the value of investments in six funds by about $300 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission also won a court order freezing his assets.

A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan alleges Nadel has been defrauding investors since 2004.

Nadel, 76, disappeared Jan. 14 after telling his wife in a note that he felt guilty. He also threatened to kill himself, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Police found his green Subaru the next day in an airport parking lot.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tampa, the SEC said Nadel recently transferred at least $1.25 million from two funds to secret bank accounts that he controlled.