Wellington financier and former head of the Ross Asset Management (RAM), David Ross was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in jail by Judge Denys Barry of Wellington District Court.

The 63-year-old man is behind New Zealand's largest Ponzi scheme. His elaborate fraud, straddling 12 years have costed hundreds of investors their life savings and retirement funds.

$115.5 million of investments in total is estimated to have been lost in the group, which folded last November. Before its collapse, Ross had made the investors believe  they had $351.5m in client portfolios.

One among Ross's, 700 victims were a couple who had given their life savings in the hope of securing funds  for the future of their  autistic son.

"It is not a sufficient disincentive to stop further white collar fraud in this country. We have had a raft of it in the last five or six years, and I confidently predict that we will see more."

Said,  Bruce Tichbon, who lost money with RAM and heads the victim's group Ross Support.

Ross's sentencing today follows guilty pleas to a number of Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Markets Authority (FMA) charges.

A minimum non-parole sentence of five years and five months was imposed by Judge Barry.