A woman who committed bigamy on Valentines Day has been let off with a warning from a judge that in times past, she would have been jailed.

Police have made a formal bid in the High Court to seize property they allege is associated with a failed finance company director.

As a "breathtakingly arrogant" con artist was led to cells he waved to his victims and said: "Sorry everybody".

A previously unnamed defendant in the latest failed finance company case can now be identified as a Auckland property developer.

New Zealand lawyers are being targeted in a scam trying to get their personal information, which then could be used to steal money or infiltrate computer networks.

The NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants brought disciplinary proceedings against a jailed and bankrupt finance company director - who is no longer a member.

A man who duped a family into buying properties will spend Easter in jail after attempt for an appeal against his sentence failed this morning.

A now-disbarred lawyer accused of helping a property developer borrow millions of dollars from a finance company cannot argue he was an innocent agent, says the Crown in its closing submissions.

What if the "power of positive thinking" is simply a numbing drumbeat that reinforces the positivity delusion, leading us to make blockheaded business and investment decisions?

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.

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.

The man who once stole more than $1 million from an Auckland high school is disputing aspects of his latest fraud.

More than $1.1 million was paid to an Auckland couple under investigation for running an alleged cheating service for university assignments.

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.