Suspect on the run from cops

Morehu-Barlow's Louis Vuitton luggage birthday cake. Photo / Supplied

When Hohepa Morehu-Barlow was accused of stealing $21 million from the Queenland taxpayer, he had been on the run from New Zealand police for seven years - for doing the same thing here to the tune of nearly $100,000.

He fled New Zealand after a police complaint that he had ripped off thousands of dollars from Children's Day, a publicly-funded event.

Before that, he had been convicted of stealing more than $55,000 from the Inland Revenue Department and $32,000 by using a fraudulent Westpac bank account. He was sentenced to eight months' periodic detention but the judge suspended his one-year jail sentence, which allowed him to remain in the community.

The fact that he was able to skip across the Tasman, pass Australian police checks and be cleared to work in a senior Queensland Health finance position has created friction between the Queensland, Australia and New Zealand administrations.

The Queensland Police Union warned yesterday that Kiwi criminals, including sex offenders, could be working with children in Queensland because police Blue Card checks failed to check for overseas offences.

About 50,000 Kiwis who live in Australia are holders of Blue Card employment clearances.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, "This fraud case has exposed a flaw in the criminal history checks done all around Australia and it's time the data between New Zealand and Australia was shared."

Morehu-Barlow first came to the attention of police after a stint working for the Inland Revenue Department in his university summer holidays 1997-99. He was convicted of stealing $55,356.20 from the department. He was also convicted of illegally using a Westpac Banking Corporation open-account form to obtain $31,764.50.

Three years later, he was employed by the Office of the Children's Commissioner and Child, Youth and Family on a short-term contract to help organise the third annual Children's Day.

A spokeswoman said a complaint was made to police once discrepancies in Morehu-Barlow's invoices were discovered. "These discrepancies included an invoice for $5625 in Mr Morehu-Barlow's name, non-work related taxi charges, flight bookings and personal use of rental cars," she said.

As police again began looking into his alleged offending, he disappeared from New Zealand.

In Queensland, he crafted a new life of lies under a new name. He convinced Australians that he was a rich, Tahitian prince. He lived a lavish gay lifestyle filled with Louis Vuitton suits, Lamborghini cars and a rented multi-million dollar apartment. He was handsome, popular and his photos regularly made social pages in the local newspapers.

He grew up in his grandparents' three-bedroom state house in Thames after his parents split up. It is unclear what influence his mother had on his upbringing but last year, she too was convicted of dishonestly using 28 cheques for pecuniary advantage.

The Herald on Sunday has learned that Andre Nina Barlow, 54, stole $24,296.44 from her lesbian partner's inheritance funds to pay bills and beef up her personal bank account.

The eldest of five siblings, "Joey" went to South School Primary then Thames High School, where he was deputy head boy, sports captain and leader of the kapa haka group. He dressed in drag clothing to change his identity and told people his name was Hohepa Morehu-Barlow - though his real name was Joseph Hikairo-Barlow.

One friend described him as a professional liar who could "charm the pants off the Queen".

"What has happened in Brisbane is just a grander scale of him in New Zealand. He told them [flatmates] he was related to Maori royalty and that his nana was wealthy and had [Charles F] Goldie paintings ... he became more delusional."

Morehu-Barlow studied business management at Victoria University in Wellington but, according to the online roll of graduates, he didn't graduate.

Morehu-Barlow had been working for Queensland Health for five years when checks revealed that $21 million appeared to have gone missing. After a three-day manhunt, police found Morehu-Barlow unconscious in his luxurious inner-city apartment.

Morehu-Barlow was charged with fraud for allegedly stealing $14 million from Queensland Health. He is expected to face additional charges relating to another $7 million.

Big-spending fantasy life

Man-about-town Hohepa Morehu-Barlow seemed to have come a long way from the ramshackle family cottage in Thames in which he had grown up, the oldest child in a big broken family, his dad gone, his mother subsequently convicted of fraud.

But it turns out the apple did not fall that far from the tree.

Obsessed with his appearance, Morehu-Barlow, 36, known as Joel in Australia, was a frequent customer at Brisbane spas and beauty clinics for spray tans, eyebrow-shaping and Botox.

Several friends confirmed he was also a cross-dresser who took on a separate persona when dressed as a woman, claiming he was his own cousin.

A woman who lived in the same apartment block as Morehu-Barlow in Vernon Tce, Brisbane, said she would often see Barlow dressed as a woman. "It shocked me every time. He would wear a wig, lipstick, really nice clothes, stockings and shiny high heels. During the day he had amazing suits."

No expense was spared. Several sources confirmed that for a birthday, Barlow flew 20 people from Brisbane to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays.

Morehu-Barlow would travel interstate and overseas so frequently that friends questioned how he was able to get so much time off. Staff at one of his favourite Italian restaurants said Morehu-Barlow would be oddly generous with his tips, giving the same amount in a tip as the cost of the bill. Those close to him feel betrayed. One long-term friend said: "It was a shock and a betrayal. It's very sad that someone would need to create a delusionary life."

1975-1993: Grew up in Thames.
1989-1993: Thames High School.1996-2001: Victoria University, Wellington.
1997-1999: Worked at Inland Revenue during university holidays.
1999: Convicted of stealing $55,356.20 from Inland Revenue and $31,764.50 through Westpac.
2002: Worked for Child, Youth and Family and the Office of the Children's Commissioner.
2003: A complaint made to police about alleged theft of $5625 from employer.
2003: Fled to Queensland.
2005: Employed by Queensland Health.
2010: Investigated for alleged fraud at Queensland Health but released due to lack of evidence.
2010: Mother Andre Nina Barlow convicted of theft from partner's personal bank account.
2011: Arrested and charged with stealing about $14 million from Queensland Health.

- additional reporting Sunday Mail