'Investor' who swindled $1.7m from elderly jailed

Self-styled financial guru Edward Toller has been jailed for eight years after he gambled away about $1.7 million in other people's life savings.

He promised his victims investments guaranteed to make money, swindling a total of $1,744,220 from 14 elderly and unsophisticated investors.

Four of them lost more than $300,000 each.

Toller chose victims he knew were desperate to recoup money they'd already lost through another fraudulent company he'd worked for.

When he was arrested in June last year, Toller allegedly threw up his hands and told police: "what I have done is completely illegal".

He later told police the money was gone.

"I spent it. I gambled it," he said.

"I feel like crap for what I've done to them. I just got to the point where some of them had put too much money in and I couldn't regain it without getting them to reinvest."

Justice Stephen Norrish said Toller had treated his victims like "human ATMs" and said he didn't believe Toller had any intention to pay their money back.

The 34-year-old has a non-parole period of five years and will be eligible for parole in June 2022.