Alex Swney pleads guilty to $2.5M fraud charge

Alex Swney pleads guilty to fraud charge over $2.5 mln of payments

April 21 (BusinessDesk) - Alex Swney, former chief executive of the Auckland city centre business association Heart of the City, has pleaded guilty to dishonestly using documents to obtain $2.5 million.

Swney appeared in the Auckland District Court today to answer the charge brought by the Serious Fraud Office. According to an SFO statement, Swney admitted that while at Heart of the City he created fictitious invoices which when submitted, resulted in payments into accounts controlled by him.

The one-time mayoral candidate is separately awaiting sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Inland Revenue Department related to about $1.76 million in unpaid taxes. For the dishonesty charges he was today remanded on bail and is due to appear again on April 30, the SFO said.

“Mr Swney dishonestly obtained funds to which he knew he was not entitled," said SFO director Julie Read. "The misappropriation of funding intended to benefit Auckland businesses increased the cost of the services provided by Heart of the City and reduced the benefits delivered by what has otherwise been a very successful venture."

Read said fraud of that size by employees trusted with management and expenditure of substantial sums of money "is very costly for both the businesses concerned and more broadly for the community as it harms the integrity of these organisations."

Heart of the City Inc, an entity funded by property owners and commercial tenants, was established by Swney in 1995. He held the position of CEO until his contract was terminated last October.

(BusinessDesk)

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