Alex Swney, former Heart of the City chief executive and convicted fraudster, has been declared bankrupt in the Auckland District Court today.
Last month, Swney was jailed for five years and seven months after admitting to over a decade of financial offending–false invoices to obtain over $2.5 million from Heart of the City, an organization that he founded and led for over almost 20 years; and tax evasion, avoiding to pay over $1.7 million in taxes by faking 229 invoices.
Swney pleaded guilty in June to the charges. He admitted that he submitted fictitious invoices that netted him over $2.5 million.
The case has already been referred to the Official Asignee to administer Swney’s bankruptcy and also find ways to recover funds for creditors.
The court had heard that Swney had stolen the money for his personal used. The disgraced boss said that he believed he was not paid enough, and should have been given more credit for what he has done with Heart of the City.
In June, during Swney’s hearing, Swney’s lawyer Murray Gibson said that his client had shown genuine remorse. “He will never appear again in this capacity … We shouldn’t lose sight of all that has been achieved under the defendant’s watch at Heart of the City.”
Inland Revenue Department group tax counsel Graham Tubb said in June that New Zealanders can be confident that Swney will be caught; that Swney “deliberately tried to cheat the system and not pay his fair share of tax – tax that funds vital services like schools, hospitals and welfare services.”
“The small minority who try to evade paying tax take every step to hide their actions. Swney was no exception. But thanks to the hard work of Inland Revenue’s investigators, he has been caught. He has not got away with it,” Tubb added.
