Ex-MP on fraud counts

A former member of Parliament is facing charges over a pokie machine trust fraud worth $1.9 million.

The ex-MP and three others face a combined total of 17 charges, laid after a Serious Fraud Office investigation last year.

All four defendants' identities have been suppressed by the court.

They are due to return to court for a depositions hearing in Auckland in September.

The investigation focused on a charitable trust licensed by Internal Affairs to run gaming machines for charity.

The SFO alleges the lead offender (referred to as "Mr X" in papers obtained by the Weekend Herald) entered into two conspiracies with three others - his wife and two other men.

The alleged scams involved using documents to obtain trust funds for himself.

Investigators also claim Mr X on eight occasions corruptly accepted commissions and gifts including travel and accommodation from companies he dealt with.

The offending is alleged to have taken place from June 2003 to December 2005.

One defendant faces an additional charge of trying to defeat the course of justice, after allegedly presenting a phony receipt book to SFO investigators.