Expulsion from NZ First

In November 2012 Horan was accused of taking money from his dying mother's bank account and spending it on gambling.^[10] At first Winston Peters refused to say whether he still had confidence in Horan,^[11] but on 4 December expelled him from the party.^[2] Horan wasn't informed until Peters made the announcement in Parliament.^[12]

Horan flatly denied the allegations,^[13] and vowed to continue as an independent MP,^[14] despite only making it into Parliament as a list MP, without an electorate.

On 10 December 2012, Horan admitted making 144 calls to gambling agency TAB on his taxpayer-funded phone, but denied he had a gambling problem: "There were 144 calls in 10 months. Most of those days, I was lying with mum, on her bed, watching Trackside."^[15] Later that day he notified the Speaker he was no longer a member of NZ First, making his independence from the party official. He also called for an investigation into who leaked his phone records to the media.^[16]

New Zealand Independent Coalition

In 2013, Horan announced his intention to form a new political party.^[17] In January 2014 he launched the NZ Independent Coalition,^[18] which, following the general election on 20 September 2014 did not win any seats or cross the 5% party vote threshold to stay in Parliament.^[19] Horan stood in the Bay of Plenty electorate, coming fifth.^[20]

In 2016, the NZ Independent Coalition was deregistered.^[21] Also in 2016, Horan was cleared of the allegations around use of his mother's bank account, with police saying there was no evidence to support charges. Horan stated that the allegations had made it difficult to secure sought-after jobs.^[22]