Anatomy of Fraud: A Study of Fraud Cases in New Zealand

The Oxford Dictionary defines fraud as: "Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain."
Fairly straight forward then. And haven't we all seen evidence of it on TV? Read about it online, or in an actual newspaper? Or even been victims of it, to a greater or lesser degree, at one time or another?
A search in the books section here on Amazon reveals that currently (2014) 14,154 publications exist on fraud; 1,617 of those in the Kindle eBooks section.
So why am I going to make that total 14,155?
What's different enough about "Anatomy of Fraud" to persuade you to buy it then?
Because "Anatomy of Fraud" only covers actual fraud cases here in New Zealand.
A study sadly neglected over the years: As proof, adding 'New Zealand' to that earlier Amazon search only reveals a total of 66 publications. Most of which aren't even about us, are novels, or only mention us 'in passing.'
Based on this wholly unscientific survey, could one argue that fraud is almost unknown here?
After all, we're a small country of only four million on the far side of the Pacific: Many thousands of kilometres away from the 'crime-ridden' USA, Europe, and Asia. A country best known for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films, perhaps our rugby-playing prowess, certainly our pristine natural scenery.
New Zealand, however, is not some 'fraud-free' paradise.
Far from it in fact: In 2011 PwC ranked us fourth highest in levels of fraud out of a total of 78 countries surveyed!
Therefore, instead of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scene, I can give you our very own Stephen Versalko's. Our local equivalent of benefit fraudster Sly Malik would have to be Wayne Patterson. And Paul Daugerdas's scam has its equivalent here in Barrie Skinner and David Rowley's tax fraud.
And alongside them, I also cover false invoice fraudsters Michael Swann and Kerry Harford; Raghu Aryasomayajula and Phillip Cavanagh's mortgage fraud; and Lynette Fiebig's not-for-profit fraud.
This book was begun in September 2010, after watching a local news broadcast covering Michael Swann's latest attempt to stop 'his' property being confiscated.
It was a combination of curiosity, disbelief, and downright anger that led me to put fingers to keyboard: How could this happen here? Why did it go on for so long? And how come he wasn't caught earlier?
Unfortunately, the short answers were: Too easily; due to a very flawed system; and incompetence.
But then perhaps I should just present you with facts, and let you decide?