Meat purveyor gets 15 years for fraud

DENVER, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A kosher meat business owner in Denver has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for swindling investors, many of them retirees who lost their savings.

Arnold Zaler, 60, received a sentence far above the eight years recommended by prosecutors, The Denver Post reported. U.S. District Judge John Kane ordered him to pay $2.5 million in restitution.

"He is a hard-core recidivist, and sentences of lesser time imposed on him in the past have utterly failed at preventing further crimes of fraud and deception," Kane said at Friday's hearing. "He deserves a sentence where he is too old to offend again."

Zaler's Kosher Meats had legitimate contracts with Pepsi Center and Invesco Field to operate hot dog stands. Zaler forged documents to convince investors he had additional large contracts with both venues.

Otti Seiden of Denver, who invested his savings with Zaler, called him a "smooth talker."

"I have not been out to dinner, breakfast or lunch in months," Seiden said.

Zaler's lawyers argued he was trying to keep his business going and did not intend to cheat investors. The judge called that "a tale told more often than not by fraudsters."