54 year-old Alexander Milne from Banff pleaded guilty to cheating 29 clients out of money between 2002 and 2005.

Peterhead Sheriff Court heard how the former car salesman convinced his clients, which included relatives and friends as well as pensioners, to invest with him and promised them “big returns”.

Although the venture was successful to start off with, when it started to fail Mr Milne told clients they would make more money if he kept hold of their savings for longer, making further investments.

Sentencing him, Sheriff Hendry told the broker: “It is clear to me that during this period you took sums of money knowing that your business had failed. You robbed Peter to pay Paul.”

Sheriff Hendry said that he would have sentenced Mr Milne to four years in prison, but reduced it after that accepting that he did not spend the money on a lavish lifestyle.

Describing the matter as a “tragedy” for the broker and his family, as well as his clients who had put their trust in him, he added: “I also accept your remorse for your actions and that stress and depression probably played a part at least in your failure to recognise that your business had failed.”

The court heard that it was unlikely all the victims would have their money recovered.