Alex Swney faces further fraud charges relating to fake invoices

Alex Swney once ran for mayor, claiming that Aucklanders were overtaxed. Photo / Janna Dixon

Auckland businessman Alex Swney, who admitted evading taxes of nearly $1.8 million, faces further charges totaling more than $2.5 million relating to allegedly fake invoices.

The 57-year-old former Heart of the City boss will appear in Auckland District Court this morning on a new charge laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Court documents allege he dishonestly used false invoices to obtain $2,527,005 from the company between February 2004 and October 2014.

The charge carries a maximum prison term of seven years.

Swney is set to be sentenced on IRD-laid charges next week and a judge previously told him jail was the inevitable outcome.

In January, the former mayoral candidate pleaded guilty to four representative charges covering 12 years of offending and $1,757,147 of unpaid taxes.

Heart of the City - a city-centre business association registered by Swney in 1994 - has income-tax exemption on the basis that it was created to develop or increase amenities for the Auckland public.

But technically the defendant was a contractor of the organisation as the sole director of AGS Services Ltd and the services he provided were taxable.

The IRD charges come with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $50,000, and almost from the outset, the SFO said it was also investigating Swney.

A summary of facts filed by the IRD alleged Swney had issued "various fictitious invoices" to Heart of the City.

Investigators questioned several organisations - including the New Zealand Herald - over the authenticity of the invoices and determined they were created "without authorisation".

Swney is also facing civil action launched by Heart of the City, whose board announced the move in December after forensic accountants scoured their finances.

Both parties opposed applications to view documents.

In January, the defendant's lawyer Murray Gibson said they hoped to have all criminal matters dealt with at one sentencing date at the end of the month.

"It's in the best interests of everyone that all matters get resolved at the same time," he said.

"The indications are encouraging."