A smooth-talking lothario who conned woman in London out of thousands of pounds has started a prison sentence.

Fraudster Amir Tofangsazan posed as a doctor and barrister on online dating sites before getting his victims to part with their cash, police have said.

He was jailed following an investigation by police in Hammersmith & Fulham, where a number of his victims lived.

One of them said afterwards that the incident made it "difficult for her to trust people and her own judgement".

Tofangsazan had denied 15 charges of fraud, theft, perverting the course of justice and possessing articles concerned in fraud, but was found guilty following a five-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court, police said in a press release.

The remorseless suspect continually maintained his innocence, even carrying out further scams while on bail, but was sentenced to seven years and nine months on May 27.

The court heard that between May 2012 and July 2014, Tofangsazan created a number of profiles on online dating sites using different aliases as well as adopting several personalities including those of a doctor and a barrister, police said.

Once a victim had made contact, Tofangsazan would gain their trust and after a few weeks was able to convince them that they were in a secure relationship.

Having trapped his victims with his lies, Tofangsazan would start to ask them to loan him money which he would promise to pay back. Sometimes he would take money from his victims by promising them airline or sought after event tickets at discounted prices which he said he was able to get because of his career.

When the tickets failed to arrive, or the loans weren’t repaid, Tofangsazan would make up excuses or accuse his victims of lying and end the relationship.

Some of his victims also had their bank cards photographed without their knowledge. The details of the card were later used to pay for dates or fund his lifestyle.

On one occasion, having stolen £300 from a victim, he then accused her of stealing from him, resulting in the woman being interviewed by police. However, following police investigation, Tofangsazan was arrested and charged with theft and perverting the course of justice.

Another one of his victims was so convinced that the relationship was long-term that Tofangsazan was able to swindle nearly £15,000 from her.

He was eventually caught out by the victim after she found a note in his pocket with his real name. After searching him online, she found out he was involved in a number of other frauds and contacted police.

The court also heard Tofangsazan continued with his scams while on bail and during police investigation.

Speaking afterward the sentencing, one of his victims said: “Even though he is now behind bars, it will still be a difficult journey to overcome the emotional pain he has caused me.

“I have been scarred to the point that I find it difficult to trust others but more importantly trust my judgement about others.”

Detective Sergeant Richard Jones, from Hammersmith & Fulham CID, thanked victims who had assisted with the case. He said: “Tofangsazan’s sole intention was to exploit women by creating a web of lies purely for financial gain or to fulfil his sexual fantasies.

“All his victims were deceived into thinking that they were talking to a man who was genuinely looking for love but ended up being used.”