Southampton Crown Court heard how Anthony Gough, 56, from New Forest Financial Management in Hampshire told the widow to transfer the funds from one account to another but pocketed the money, according to the Southern Daily Echo.
Elizabeth Ibaldi received a call from Gough shortly after the death of her husband saying he had taken over her affairs from another adviser at the firm.
He told her to take £105,000 in investment from one company and switch to another called F&C to get a better return on her investment.
Gough warned her she would not receive a return for five years and sent her a brochure about the investment that he had created on his computer.
However, Mrs Ibaldi became suspicious when she did not receive any statements and tried getting hold of Gough, who was unresponsive. So she contacted F&C, who found no record of the investment.
The court heard how Gough had used £70,000 to pay off debts incurred when he had been off work with cancer. The rest he used to put into a mortgage business called Mortgage Wizard.
Gough accepted he had fabricated the documents, saying he had hoped to repay the money but realised because of the economic climate that was unlikely, and he “had put his head in the sand”. The adviser admitted one count of fraud.
Passing sentence, recorder Peter Fraser told him: “She was vulnerable and you were in a position of trust. This was a confidence fraud carried out with planning.”
In mitigation, Peter Asteris said Gough had worked in the finance industry for 30 years with a good reputation.
He added: “It wasn’t a crime of malice. He was trying to use the opportunity to put his life back on track.”
The court heard that Mrs Ibaldi had been repaid.
