Hundreds Invest in Horseshoes for Camels Scam ... Seriously

Using stories of how his company's therapeutic horseshoes were the choice of Olympic athletes, and were bought by a prince in Dubai for his camels, a New Jersey man bilked would-be investors out of $1.7 million.

If any of the more than 300 investors -- many of whom were police officers and firefighters -- checked out the stories before ponying up money, they might have kicked Samuel M. Serritella to the curb. The 66-year-old Garfield man was sentenced Friday to nine years in state prison and ordered to repay consumers he defrauded, said state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor.