Judge Barry Mahoney sentenced Marinellis to five years and three months jail with a non-parole period of four years and four months. The sentence will be backdated to October last year when the 40-year-old was first jailed.

Judge Mahoney said a significant sentence was needed to deter others from committing similar offences. "None of the matters are trivial and the modus operandi was complicated and devious," he said. Marinellis will be eligible for release on February 28, 2008.

"The crime of fraud has been with mankind for a long time. This style of robbery is just a new theft technique using a modern tool - the internet," said Rob Forsyth, managing director for Sophos Australia and New Zealand. "If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. With the increase of spam email, the old adage of caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware -- should be written in bold across the top of every computer screen."