Anne Hathaway's former boyfriend Raffaelo Follieri has been jailed for four and a half years for cheating investors out of millions of dollars.

Follieri – who split from Hathaway days before his June arrest – pleaded guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in September.

It emerged that the businessman had boasted that his supposed ties to the Vatican would enable him to buy church property at discount prices.

Anne and her shady former boyfriend enjoy an audience with the Pope

Follieri told a New York court, “I made some terrible mistakes. I always thought I could repair all the wrongdoing but I was wrong.”

His next hearing is scheduled for December 12.