Giovanni di Stefano jailed for 14 years for fraud after tricking people into thinking he was qualified Giovanni di Stefano, 57, earned nickname for taking on difficult cases But despite no legal training, he won some of his cases Di Stefano also claimed to be friends with Slobodan Milosevic's daughter A bogus lawyer has been sentenced 14 years in prison for duping 'desperate and vulnerable victims' into thinking he was a bona fide legal professional. Giovanni di Stefano, 57, became known as the Devil's Advocate for taking on 'unwinnable' cases with a client list including road rage killer Kenneth Noye and timeshare fraudster John "Goldfinger" Palmer. Despite no legal training, the fraudster managed to win some of his cases. But his high-flying legal career was brought to an abrupt end when he was convicted of 25 charges including deception, fraud and money laundering between 2001 and 2011. Behind bars: Giovanni di Stefano, pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court ahead of his sentencing for fraud, was today jailed for 14 years Today di Stefano, who was briefly a director of Dundee FC in 2003, pleaded guilty to another two counts of fraud and a further three counts were ordered to lie on file at London's Southwark Crown Court. As he stepped out of the dock after hearing his sentence, di Stefano told the judge in a loud voice: 'I am obliged, my Lord'. Judge Alistair McCreath, the Recorder of Westminster, noted there were many offences over significant periods of time. He said the fact that the victims, which included a disabled man seeking damages for the loss of an arm, were all 'desperate and vulnerable' and faced losses which were not just financial but also included the 'raising and dashing of false hope' were aggravating factors. The judge told di Stefano: 'I recognise that you did not actively seek out those whom you defrauded. They came to you. You did not approach them but there is more than one kind of predator. Some predators hunt down their victims, others lie in wait for them. Your victims in this case were all desperate people and people who, because of their desperation, were vulnerable. The judge also noted that, while this case is about money, 'it is also about something different and great - it is about the real distress you caused to so many people'. 'You had no regard for them nor for their anguish,' he said. Your only concern was to line your own pockets. During the trial, di Stefano told of his links to Robert Mugabe, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and his 'friendship' with the daughter of Slobodan Milosevic. The court was shown a 2004 BBC documentary in which he described Saddam as a 'nice guy' and boasted of being asked to defend killers such as Jeremy Bamber, Harold Shipman, Kenneth Noye and Linda Calvey. Prosecutor David Aaronberg QC had told the jury that di Stefano had gained fame for handling clients 'whose cases others considered unwinnable or too difficult to defend'. But he did in fact win some cases, overturning a manslaughter conviction against Nicholas van Hoogstraten in 2002 and getting him released from prison. In 2003, Di Stefano secured the release of John 'Goldfinger' Palmer from prison on a technicality, with only a fine of £33million for timeshare fraud, which Palmer later avoided paying. Di Stefano, who was briefly a director of Dundee FC in 2003, at Dens Park pushing the case for Scottish football The harm that di Stefano inflicted was 'in financial terms alone high', said the judge. But he added: 'In terms of emotional harm, it was much greater - the building of false hopes, always and inevitably dashed, followed by years of misery and frustration as they tried to recover what you had stolen and in the end were forced to come to terms with their financial loss.' The judge said di Stefano had 'lied' to his victims about what he was capable of and who he was. His crimes were 'planned and persistent' and some of his attempts to defend his behaviour in court amounted to 'breathtaking cynicism', the judge noted. Di Stefano, of North Stream, Marshside, Canterbury, Kent, was found guilty of nine counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, eight counts of fraud, three counts of acquiring criminal property, two counts of using a false instrument, one count of attempting to obtain a money transfer by deception, one count of obtaining property by deception and one count of using criminal property. Today he pleaded guilty to stealing £150,000 compensation that should have gone to a man who had lost an arm in a car crash. The money was due as part of an insurance policy but di Stefano had it paid in to his business account and 'duly stole it'. The court was told it was a 'wicked' crime and is one which 'stands in a league of its own'. The bogus lawyer also admitted defrauding engineer David Brown and his family of £160,000 including the £75,000 life savings of his partner's mother. This case also involved £20,000 costs which were not paid out. Due to the 'utterly wrong' advice that di Stefano gave him - 'to protect your own position' - he lost his home and his job.