His aunt Josie Boldy told the Sunday News the family wasn't aware of the alleged offending.
"He's a naughty boy if he's done that but he's still my whanau (family),'' she said.
Ms Boldy said Morehu-Barlow used interchangeable names as a child, with Hohepa the Maori translation of Joseph.
A friend of Morehu-Barlow's, fashion designer Marc Adamson, told the newspaper he was shocked by the news.
"Joel was very kind as a mate. He was always the life of the party [but] I always knew something was not right,'' he said.
"Last time I saw Joel he said he was moving to Paris.''
Morehu-Barlow is reported to have been well-known in Brisbane society and is alleged to have claimed royal connections in Maori and Tahitian society - a claim Mr Adamson said he had heard.
Australian police, who began searching for Morehu-Barlow on Thursday night, have notified all major ports nationwide and frozen his assets.
A total of $16 million has allegedly been siphoned off over the past two to three years, with one payment of $11 million made in the past fortnight.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has appealed for public support in the manhunt.
New Zealand police have not yet been asked for assistance in the investigation, a spokeswoman told AAP.
- AAP
