NINE people were swindled out of a total of almost £195,000 after being persuaded to put money into an investment scheme by a man who then lost it in feeding his gambling habit.

The Jenkco Investors brochure proclaimed that "we are professional investors, not gamblers" - but the man behind the scheme, Robert Jenkins, of Nant Celyn, Rhymney, was a gambler.

He frittered away the aforementioned sum, out of £227,000 in lifesavings and pension pots invested over several years, through what prosecutor Matthew Roberts called "a sophisticated and perpetual series of frauds".

Jenkins, 44, was to stand trial at Newport Crown Court, but changed his pleas to guilty on nine charges of fraud and one of making or supplying an article for use in fraud, after a jury was sworn and Mr Roberts had opened the prosecution case.

The latter charge related to the production of monthly statements for investors, supposedly detailing their growing investments.

Five of Jenkins' victims are from Tredegar. The remainder live in Ebbw Vale, Cardiff, Bridgend and Barry.

Of the three heaviest investors, one put in £71,000 and lost £62,409, another invested and lost £63,000, and the third put in £45,413.79 and lost £42,159.70.

The remainder invested sums ranging from £1,500-£13,630, with losses varying from 100 per cent to nothing.

Mr Roberts said Jenkins "enticed people to invest monies in an alleged investment scheme and produced convincing so-called monthly investment statements showing just how well their monies were performing in his fund, and the high percentage return those monies were generating on a monthly basis"."

"Or so people thought. The reality was very different."

Jenkco Investments promised "significant annual returns", using a "tried and tested formula" based on horse racing and betting exchanges. But, said Mr Roberts: "This is entirely false and fraudulent. There is no element of truth to it at all."

"All nine individuals invested their money based on a lie. It was not used for investment. The monthly statements were fictitious.

"Detailed analysis of accounts held by the defendant shows there is never a positive figure for funds held by him."

Investments began in September 2007. Some victims joined later and, encouraged by seemingly handsome returns, some continued to invest over several years.

Some came to regard Jenkins as a friend, investing again even after he told them in 2010 that a computer glitch had caused him to lose many thousands of pounds of their money. Even that was a lie, but his plausibility was a powerful influence.

"All nine believed in the defendant and the scheme, and none had any basis on which to question his integrity," said Mr Roberts.

All that changed in March 2014. After a number of requests for the return of money, Jenkins informed his investors that it had all gone. Questioned further, he admitted gambling it away, and the police were called in.

Jenkins will be sentenced on March 15, and Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told him a jail term is inevitable.

A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) investigation is also beginning, to try to recover some or all of the money.