Former Act Party leader John Banks will face a retrial for filing a false electoral return, Solicitor-General Mike Heron, QC, has confirmed.

After months of maintaining his innocence ex-Heart of the City boss Alex Swney phoned his parents to say he was going to plead guilty to nearly $1.8m in tax evasion.

The liquidators of fraudster Jacqui Bradley's failed business are mulling whether to try to claw back $2 million from eight investors who were paid out before her Ponzi scheme folded.

The son of convicted murderer Helen Milner has today admitted possession of a sawn-off shotgun that he got for his own protection after hearing that his mother had hired a hitman.

Kiwis are being increasingly extorted for cash by cyber-criminals who made last year New Zealand's worst for costly "ransomware" attacks.

Two NZ charities have been hit by cyber-criminals - in one case, 50,000 attempts were made to submit a fake donation to try to test stolen credit card numbers.

Liquidators probing the collapse of a clothing business have complained records were destroyed.

The Commerce Minister has rejected a request from David Ross' burned investors to look into the country's claw-back regime as the first court case looms.

Auckland businessman William Yan has been denied access to seized assets to pay private school fees for his children and to service the mortgage on his luxury apartment.

Holes in NZ passport security have been exposed after an illegal immigrant paid for two false identities and the copies ended up linked to a terror plot.

A Nelson fraudster who police say stole $500,000 from clients of his investment advisory business has been has been jailed for six years and nine months

Computers being remotely operated by hackers account for almost one in four views of digital video ads worldwide.

Three of five former Bernard Madoff workers have escaped with sentences much lighter than prosecutors sought.

The Crown says one of the defendants in an ad scam trial was a "parasite" but the defence claims some people who bought ads from him were just "stupid".

William Yan wants around $4500 to $5000 a month for living expenses paid out of his restrained assets.

An Auckland businessman who had $40 million of assets seized this year has told the High Court he gave away a Rolls Royce.

Think your company is immune from employee fraud? Better think again, investigators tell Helen Twose.

A multi-million dollar insurance claim by Bridgecorp's receivers against Lloyd's Underwriters in London has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

The last time convicted murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith was in court, two years ago, he convinced a judge he would not offend again.

A Kiwi accused of embezzling US$10 million ($12.65 million) from his American employer is making another attempt to keep the case out of the New Zealand courts.

Judith Collins talked of being "let down" after being cleared of allegations that she was involved in a smear campaign against Adam Feeley, the former chief executive of the Serious Fraud Office.

A West Auckland business owner is accused of paying someone to burn down his factory for an insurance payout of more than $1 million.

A probe that has already uncovered nearly $10 million in misappropriated tertiary funding is to be expanded to include a dozen suspect programmes around the country.

Claims by the son of Black Widow killer Helen Milner that his "old lady is paying for a hit to be put on me" have been backed by Milner's former sister-in-law.

Black widow Helen Milner has hired a hitman to kill her son from her jail cell, a court has heard this morning.

An alleged Kiwi fraudster, once banned from doing business in New South Wales, is making a bid for bail after more than two years in custody.

A recidivist fraudster who stole more than $450,000 from a top Auckland couple, using the money to fund her wedding that she then invited them to, will be released on parole.

A West Auckland man who ripped off a pensioner for $67,000, stole his smoke alarms and was set to change his will has been jailed for more than two years.

Police are eyeing money from the sale of three houses owned by a couple accused of defrauding NZX-listed Mighty River Power.