An Adelaide investment broker, who scammed clients out of $7 million, has been jailed for more almost 10 years.
Malcolm Royce Jones, 54, pleaded guilty to 11 dishonesty and deception charges and asked for another 62 offences to be taken into account in what a judge described as deception on a grand scale.
In the South Australian District Court on Thursday Judge Jack Costello said Jones had abused the trust of his clients in the most callous fashion.
"Hearts have been broken, lives have been ruined," the judge said.
Jones had engaged in fraudulent transactions between 2009 and 2013 that amounted to "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
In one case he had even forged the signature of his sister to secure a mortgage over her own home without her knowledge.
Judge Costello said Jones took out an ever-increasing number of loans to cover the capital and interest of existing loans.
"Deception on a grand scale was at the heart of your scheme," he told Jones.
Because of the complexity of the offending it was difficult to tell just how much of the money Jones had taken for himself and how much might eventually be recovered.
But he said the impact on the victims had been devastating.
He jailed Jones for nine years and nine months and set a non-parole period of five years and 10 months.
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