Victims of an accused Stony Point swindler are coming forward after losing thousands in an investment scheme.

Interior decorator Lenore Congemi thought she carefully researched the Pearl River-based Westgate Capital Management before making a $100,000 investment. She says she has been receiving statements every month, and everything seemed legitimate.

On Wednesday, however, the president of the firm, James Nicholson, was taken into police custody and charged with fraud, leaving Congemi and hundreds of other clients in Rockland County to pick up the pieces.

"I just have to move forward, keep my head up," Congemi says. "He got our money, but [we] can't let him get more than that."

The Rockland County District Attorney's Office estimates Nicholson defrauded tens of millions of dollars. County officials started investigating Nicholson after several investors complained that their checks bounced.

Nicholson remains in federal custody. His bail was set at $10 million.