A company director led an elaborate £18m fraud scheme to fund a lavish lifestyle which included buying "his and hers" Bentley cars.

Stephen Farley, 57, pretended he was an experienced financial dealer and encouraged people to invest money with his firm, sums they believed were being ploughed into the foreign exchange market.

On some occasions he secured their trust by cold-calling and promising guaranteed minimum returns and limited potential losses.

Most of the cash never saw its way to that market, however, and Farley used some of it to issue returns to other people while funding a luxury lifestyle.

Farley's office on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh was decked out with screens showing financial information and a £10,000 bronze statue of a bull which he claimed was a gift from clients.

He invited investors to seats in the Royal Box at Ascot with a stay at the Ritz hotel and helicopter and Rolls Royce transfers, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

Farley also spent thousands of pounds on food and champagne at exclusive restaurants, ran up five-figure bills at Harrods and Claridge's and splashed out on lavish cruises.

He also used more than £270,000 from his firm to purchase "his and hers" Bentleys for himself and his wife Fiona.

Farley's firm was shut down in 2008 after police and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) intervened.

Liam Murphy, procurator fiscal for specialist casework, said: "Stephen Farley convinced hundreds of people to provide him with their own money on the basis of false promises and concocted financial statements.

"He used their investments to finance his business and personal spending.

"After a detailed and complex investigation, he has now been brought to justice, banned from being a director, and faces imprisonment.

"I would urge those who are concerned about any funds they have invested to check with the Financial Conduct Authority that the companies they are dealing with are legitimate."

Detective inspector Arron Clinkscales said: "Stephen Farley came across as a legitimate business man and presented a very enticing offer to his victims, which convinced them to invest heavily in his company.

"From the outset, Farley has deceived each investor and was never able to provide them with the financial rewards he had promised them.

"Farley has proven himself to be motivated solely by money and has given no consideration for how his actions would impact on the people who sunk their savings into his Ponzi-scheme.

"The sentence handed to him reflects the joint commitment of Police Scotland and the Crown Office to bring those responsible for crimes of this nature to account and provide justice for victims."

Judge Lady Scott told Farley on Wednesday: "This was a complex and detailed fraudulent scheme which involved elaborate deception. Very significant sums of money were involved."

Farley, of Newtongrange in Midlothian, previously admitted obtaining £18.4m by fraud and appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday to be sentenced.

The court heard Farley ran his scheme between April 2004 and October 2008.