Emmanuel Scotts, 55, wooed several women on an internet site and, after gaining their trust, persuaded them to “invest” savings and returned small sums of “interest” to extract more money.
The reality was that Chelsea-based Scotts was manipulating the victims to fund his own lifestyle.
In total, the four victims lost a total of £324,083, with one victim losing £232,969.
Scotts told lie after lie, claiming he was a stockbroker who worked in New York; Paris and London, had been employed by banking giant BNP Paribas and was an entrepreneur who owned a fashion company.
He convinced his victims their investments were guaranteed; risk-free and would deliver high returns, boasting of lucrative opportunities in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
Last year Scotts was jailed for four years for frauds he committed with his wife Behnaz, 52, which funded their penthouse and their children's private educations.
After an eight-week Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court trial he was convicted of four counts of fraud by false representation, having already pleaded guilty to possessing articles for use in fraud.
He was brought to justice following an investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit made up of officers from the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police Service, and funded by the banking and finance industry.
Acting Detective Chief Inspector David Vint head of the DCPCU, said: “Scotts callously targeted innocent people with romance scams to fund his lifestyle, having no regard for the emotional, psychological and financial impact it would have on them.
“Our officers carried out a tenacious investigation and were able to identify Scotts as the perpetrator and secure charges against him.
“This is a stark warning to romance fraudsters: we will find you and ensure you are brought to justice.
“We would always urge the public to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and always avoid sending money to someone you’ve never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online.”
Metropolitan Police Service Detective Inspector Andrew Little, from the DCPCU, said: “Scotts preyed on the emotions of his victims to gain their trust and several victims genuinely believed they were in a meaningful relationship with him.
“Romance fraud is a despicable crime and we hope that the sentence handed down goes some way to helping the victims rebuild their lives and relationships with others.”
The trial judge described Scotts as a “a career fraudster” and confiscation proceedings are ongoing.
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