An online dating fraudster has been jailed for five years after she fleeced wealthy men for almost £500,000 - and left them heartbroken.

Maria Nistor, 32, set up profiles on SugarDaddies.com and Match.com to con her five victims out of large sums of cash after claiming she could repay their loans with interest.

Luton Crown Court heard how she persuaded her suitors to transfer money to her over a two-and-a-half year period by insisting she needed the money for her property investments.

One victim was told she needed money to change the deeds on a property left to her by her late father in Romania. She told the man she would sell the property on for a higher value to pay them back with added profit.

She told a similar story to another man about a property which had supposedly been given to her by an ex-boyfriend.

She went on to meet some of her victims and continued to lie to them in person, Bedfordshire Police said.

Nistor, of Barton Road, Luton, admitted five counts of fraud between April 2011 and October 2013, which saw her pocket £488,000. She was jailed at Luton Crown Court on Friday.

Detective Constable Suzanne Chappel, who led the investigation, said Nistor's web of lies had had a "devastating impact on her victims.

She said: “This has been a long and complex investigation in which the full extent of Nistor’s deceit was brought to light.

“This despicable behaviour has had a devastating impact on a number of victims, who have been left with financial worry and the emotional heartache of being betrayed by someone they thought they could trust."

A spokeswoman for Match.com said: “The safety of our members is our highest priority and we constantly review and update our systems to set and keep up with the latest techniques.

“Despite the best safeguards possible, which we believe are the best in the industry, sometimes determined criminals do find ways to take advantage of other people.

"That is why we are committed to communicating on our site and through the media how daters can stay safe, and we stress that people should never, ever give money.”