Martin's lawyer Gary Gotlieb said his client had "lost everything" - his marriage, reputation and career.
He stressed the qualities of the man who had represented the Law Society overseas and had been caring for his elderly parents while awaiting sentence.
"He just wants to help people," Mr Gotlieb said.
"What happened? We don't know."
Psychiatric reports showed Martin may have suffered some depression but Judge Mary-Beth Sharp said there was nothing in there that persuaded her to discount his sentence.
"It would be completely inappropriate and unjust in every way for the court not to mark your offending, which was very serious and very lengthy... by anything other than a sentence of imprisonment," she said.
The victim impact statements from both lawyers and Martin's customers revealed the pain he caused.
"They have been badly duped by Mr Martin. They feel extremely let down," the judge said.
She believed to some extent he "had his head in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich" but described the offending as premeditated and directed at commercial gain.
Martin was jailed for three years and seven months and Judge Sharp said she was "extremely concerned" about the fate of his parents who refused to go to a care facility.
CHARGES
• 37 x Forgery
• 35 x Supplying false or misleading information to an immigration officer
• 11 x Asking for or receiving fees for immigration advice when neither licensed nor exempt
• 9 x Providing immigration advice when neither licensed nor exempt
• 1 x Holding out as an immigration adviser when neither licensed nor exempt
