The investigation was launched in August 2018 when Devon & Cornwall Police was contacted by a bank in Plymouth.
The bank reported that an elderly customer was trying to transfer a large sum of money leading staff to believe he was the victim of fraud.
Police said examination of the account the Plymouth victim paid into revealed a string of victims who had invested into a company called Beside Asset Management and other fraudulent investment companies.
Those behind the conspiracy set up fake websites for each company and contacted victims by cold calling via phone.
Each victim was provided log in details to track their investment, and after making an initial profit they agreed to invest further.
Contact between the victims and fraudsters continued for months via phone calls and emails.
However, when they tried to withdraw money they were given a variety of excuses including having to wait 90 days, them not having invested enough, the money being tied up in China or needing further money to be paid to get it released.
Each victim paid their money into a variety of different accounts, none of which were in the name of the company they invested with.
Kpere-Daibo, a former financial advisor, was identified in relation to the fraud after sums of cash were shown as having been transferred to him, police said.
The financial investigation showed Kpere-Daibo had received payments initially invested by the victims and spent the money on meals out, hotels, football tickets and paying credit card bills.
He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on 26 January 2019 and found in possession of a bank card for an account the victims had paid into.
Det Insp Dan Parkinson, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “Sadly this crime type is on the rise. Nationally criminals stole £879.8m through investment fraud last year – an average of £2.4m a day.”
He said some victims reported they had lost as much as £250,000.
