Hotel fumes death: Victim had been due in court on fraud charges

Police have named the man who died at the Hotel Grand Chancellor this morning as 58-year-old Mark Lawrence Ivil.

The Tauranga man, who had been accused of fleecing more than $4.2 million from a number of people in a property scam carried out over a 24-year period, was expected to appear in the Auckland District Court today.

Ambulance officers treated 10 people for suspected contamination. Photo / Daniel Hines

However, he was found in a "bad way" in a room, following the toxic fume scare at the hotel, earlier this morning.

Several attempts by ambulance staff to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.

Police say Mr Ivil's death was not being treated as suspicious but are not releasing any more details in relation to his death.

A spokesman for Grand Hotels International said this afternoon that at approximately 2pm this afternoon emergency services gave the all clear for the Hotel Grand Chancellor to be re-entered as it had been deemed safe to access.

"The reported incident was not caused by the hotel and all hotel operations have now resumed as per normal. The hotel management team would like to reassure all hotel guests that the hotel is fully operational and guest bookings will not be affected due to this incident. "

He said the building was evacuated around 11am due to a "reported chemical smell".

In late July, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) outlined the charges it was making against "elusive defendant" Mark Ivil.

It said he was facing 21 charges of obtaining by deception, 14 charges of obtaining by false pretence, two charges of using a forged document and two charges of obstructing an investigation.

He appeared in the Tauranga District Court on July 28 and was due to enter a plea, but the case was instead transferred to the Auckland District Court.

The total amount of money that the SFO alleged Mr Ivil obtained from complainants between 1990 and 2014 was approximately $4.28 million.

"The SFO investigation looked into Mr Ivil's activities since the early 1990s and the SFO alleges that he has survived financially by receiving cash and direct credit payments from a number of people. The SFO alleges Mr Ivil persuaded these people to provide him with funds with convincing and plausible scenarios about returns on a property development in Australia as well as other schemes."

The SFO also laid charges in relation to his failure to appear at an interview with investigators and failure to provide documents required by the SFO, during the investigation.

At the time, SFO director Julie Read said: "Mr Ivil has a reputation for being elusive and using aliases. This could potentially mean there are more victims. We encourage anyone who is concerned about their dealings with Mr Ivil to contact the SFO."

Complaints regarding Mr Ivil's affairs were made to the SFO in June 2014. At various times, he has used the names Mark Irvine and Mark Urvine.

An SFO spokeswoman said this afternoon that it would not be commenting on the death of Mr Ivil. She said "considering the circumstances" it would not be appropriate.

Emergency service blocked off Hobson St, in Auckland's CBD, after fumes were reported coming from a hotel room. Photo / Daniel Hines

A police spokeswoman said a scene examination for a "sudden death" was being carried out at the hotel.

Fire Service assistant area commander David Woon said the toxic smell was confined to a bathroom on the third floor of the Hobson St hotel where the man was found.

He said the fumes were caused by a gas similar to that found in Rotorua.\

Fire officers outside the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Photo / Dean Purcell

Mr Woon said the toxic gas did not originate from a leak in the building but that it was the result of combining a number of chemicals.

He believed one was an acid, the other a sulphur - though he could not confirm exactly what chemicals they were.

"We've got those chemicals and those containers and we are disposing of them," he said.

Mr Woon was confident the fumes had been reduced to a safe level and that there was no further risk to the public.

"If members of the public did smell any gas - that's just the residue."

The Fire Service was called to the hotel on Hobson St since 11.10am.

Firefighters removed a man from the hotel room where the smell was coming from.

St John said the man was being decontaminated by the Fire Service to prepare him for transportation to hospital, but died at the scene.

Ambulance officers assessed a further 10 patients at the scene who did not need to be taken to hospital.

Men in white suits were seen going in and out of the ambulance parked out front.

Police closed two lanes of Hobson St and advised motorists to stay away from the area this morning.

Staff gathered outside the hotel said they were not told what had happened, but were just told to evacuate.

They were told by St John staff that if they showed any signs of feeling unwell they should contact a medical professional.

Mr Ivil's death has been referred to the coroner.