Alex Swney declared bankrupt

Former Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney was sentenced in Auckland District Court in June. Photo / Nick Reed

Convicted fraudster and former Heart of the City boss Alex Swney has been declared bankrupt.

TVNZ reported a High Court judge in Auckland declared Swney bankrupt this morning and the matter would go to the Official Assignee to examine Swney's affairs and recover funds for creditors.

The disgraced 58-year-old was jailed for five years and seven months after admitting more than a decade of financial offending, which saw him avoid paying taxes and swindle cash from the organisation he set up by faking 229 invoices.

At Swney's sentencing in June, the court heard he told the probation service he committed the large-scale offending because he felt he was being underpaid for his efforts.