A gay New Zealander who passed himself off as a Tahitian prince has been arrested in Queensland, Australia for allegedly defrauding taxpayers of $21million to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Hohepa Morehu-Barlow, 36, who is also known as Joel and Joseph Barlow, was arrested at a house in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm on Monday (12 December), it is being reported on GayNZ.com.

He is accused of siphoning off funds meant for healthcare charities during his time as financial manager at Queensland Health, over the past two to three years.