'Despicable' Adelaide financial adviser jailed over $5m theft which left lives ruined

An Adelaide financial adviser who stole nearly $5 million from more than 30 victims, including some who trusted him with near-complete control of their money, has been jailed for 10 years.

James David Gibbs, 51, used his position to "systematically steal the life savings" of his clients over a seven-year period.

In sentencing on Wednesday, District Court Judge Michael Boylan described Gibbs' actions as cruel and a gross breach of trust.

"You have caused great suffering to many people," he said.

"Yours is despicable offending and offending which only came to an end when you were caught."

Judge Boylan handed Gibbs a 10-year head sentence with a non-parole period of seven years.

Outside court, Gibbs' victims said the punishment was too lenient and did not reflect the impact of his deception on their lives.

"He just took everything. I think he left us with about $1000," Helen Cocks said.

Ms Cocks said Gibbs took her husband's back injury payout, both their superannuation savings and a family inheritance.

"We were both retired. He knew how much this money was going to mean to us," she said.

"It was our livelihood and he just took it all."

Gibbs gave clients advice about their investments and savings, and used false documents - including doctored term deposit confirmations - to cover his tracks.

Judge Boylan said he took advantage of the close personal relationships he formed with his victims.

"In many cases, you had near complete control of their affairs," he said.

"You had known most of your victims for many years and they trusted you completely.

"Some of them regarded you as a close friend."

He took $4.8 million from his clients, but their net loss was between $3 million and $3.5 million after some of the money was transferred back into their accounts.

Judge Boylan said there was no evidence Gibbs was living a lavish lifestyle, with the stolen money used on personal and business expenses, his own salary, his family's living expenses, a new business and gambling.

But Ms Cocks and other victims disputed that, and said Gibbs had openly discussed his spending habits with them.

"He told us how much he spent on some of his holidays... he bought his step-daughter a new car for her 21st birthday, the older stepdaughter wanted to get married up on the Gold Coast, he paid for the wedding," she said.

"If that's not a lavish lifestyle I don't know what is."

Gibbs pleaded guilty to 10 counts of theft, 10 counts of aggravated theft and eight counts of aggravated dishonestly dealing with documents. But Judge Boylan said those charges included 320 separate acts of dishonesty.

He will be eligible for parole in May 2026.

With AAP