Broker jailed over Ponzi scheme

An Adelaide man who used almost $2 million of investors' cash to prop up his broking business has been jailed for at least four and a half years.

Michael Christopher Samra, 57, pleaded guilty to six counts of deception with District Court Judge Geraldine Davison describing his offending as "premeditated, deliberate and repetitive".

Investors lost varying amounts when Samra's business collapsed in 2009 with $1.2 million still outstanding.

"These amounts are an indication of the extent to which you were prepared to be dishonest and to flout the law," Judge Davison told Samra in sentencing on Thursday.

"These offences were committed over a six-month period and involved multiple misrepresentations.

"In each case, you had a personal relationship with the complainant, such that they were prepared to provide you with significant amounts of money with little documentation."

She jailed Samra for eight years and nine months and set a non-parole period of four years and six months.