The Wānaka couple arrested for allegedly swindling more than $1M in an elaborate cancer fraud scheme have been named.

They are Andrew Stewart Jones, 28, and Sepiuta Setaita Vave, 38.

Each faces four charges of obtaining by deception on numerous occasions between 2021 and February this year, according to the NZ Herald.

The couple made a brief appearance in the Queenstown District Court before being remanded in custody.

They had moved to Wānaka recently, Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Dye of the Tasman Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) said.

Detective Senior Sergeant Dye said they were living a lavish lifestyle, renting properties and driving high-end European cars.

That lifestyle was allegedly funded with money defrauded from family, friends and associates for cancer treatment that inquiries show was never required and never obtained, he said.

Police had been investigating the couple for just two weeks before the arrests.

They will next appear in the Christchurch District Court on August 25.

PHOTO: Wānaka App