The founder of the kohanga reo movement, Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, has spoken of a "sense of shame" over allegations of misspending of public money.

The Government has rubbished claims it is more interested in cracking down on benefit fraudsters than tax dodgers - trumpeting a return of up to $8 for every dollar invested in chasing tax cheats.

The Serious Fraud Office has been "evaluating" a complaint involving the Waipareira Trust for two months - but won't say if it's a formal investigation.

Two former directors of a Wellington gas retail company have been found guilty of fraud charges over $17 million worth of offending.

A Queenstown bank worker has been charged over allegations of a long-running $400,000 fraud in which money was paid into fictitious accounts.

NZ resident and former British banker Darrell Read faces more criminal proceedings, from Britain's Serious Fraud Office, for his part in an alleged international rates-rigging scheme.

An Auckland man who paid a former golfing buddy hundreds of thousands of dollars in "grossly" overcharged legal fees says the ordeal has cost him health and almost everything he owns.

The man who once stole $1 million, then went on the run and called broadcaster Paul Holmes live on air threatening to kill himself, is disputing aspects of his latest fraud.

A "culture of obfuscation" prevailed at South Canterbury Finance before its $1.6b govt bailout, where directors talked about dealing with "smoke and mirrors" and "half truths".

A throwaway comment at a law conference last week by the boss of the Serious Fraud Office has delayed the start of the South Canterbury Finance fraud trial.

The trial of three former heads of South Canterbury Finance in what is alleged to be New Zealand's biggest ever fraud case begins in Timaru today.

The Serious Fraud Office trial of South Canterbury Finance's chief executive and two of the failed firm's directors is due to begin in Timaru on Wednesday.

Defence denies former mayor helped form a plan to solicit funds in contravention of Belgrave Finance's trust deed.

A former mayor and lawyer is accused of helping a property developer hide his identity so he could borrow millions from a failed finance company.

A fraudster who stole $350,000 of ratepayer money faces court action to have a deportation order enforced so he can be sent back to South Africa.

Steven Francis Younger has been jailed for two years and four months on 12 charges of defrauding three elderly people.

Repayments to investors in Aorangi Securities, one of the failed vehicles formerly run by Allan Hubbard, have climbed to 92 cents in the dollar.

A third of Kiwi businesses admit being victims of crime, however the real figure is probably much higher, a private investigator says.

A Labour party candidate in Auckland's first Super City elections will serve five months' community detention for his involvement in New Zealand's first electoral fraud.

A finance company's attempt to chase down a $300,000 loan taken out by a now-bankrupt and struck-off lawyer has been knocked back by a High Court judge

Auckland property developer Malcolm Mayer has been sent to jail for 6 years for a $47m mortgage fraud.

A New Zealand businessman lured to Europe in a $240 million email scam made a last minute complaint to police that led to some of the fraudsters being arrested.

Police are racing to catch a mystery man whose dealings have left several motel owners and duped tourists thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Sweeping changes to securities law have undermined the custodial sentences handed out to former directors of Lombard, the Supreme Court has heard.

A man facing charges over an alleged bogus company for jobseekers looking for work in Australian mines had his scheme endorsed by a fake international group.