An alleged conman known as the “Phantom” appeared briefly in the Auckland District Court on Friday after being extradited from Australia on Thursday.

Auckland restaurateur Loizos Michaels, 44 (Pictured above), appeared before Judge David McNaughton to begin facing 140 fraud charges totalling around $3 million, initially laid by the Serious Fraud Office.

The charges were not presented in court this morning and Michaels was remanded to appear again at 11am on September 27.

His lawyer, Guyon Foley, said he was not instructed to make any application for bail, so Michaels was remanded in custody.

He was not required to enter a plea.

Judge McNaughton refused to consider a media photo application saying he had no information on the issues that a future court would need to consider.

Michaels had been due to stand trial in Auckland in March on the charges alleged to have been committed in 2007 and 2008.

However, Michaels skipped bail in July 2010 after telling authorities he needed to visit his sick mother in Melbourne.

He was arrested by the Australian Federal Police on February 25 and held in a Gold Coast prison.

Michaels fought his extradition to New Zealand on the grounds he would not receive a fair trail due to the high profile people involved.

He allegedly promised to make All Black winger Jonah Lomu the global face of kick boxing, but never paid the rugby legend for months of work.

Michaels is also accused of persuading two Christchurch casino executives to invest in a million-dollar scam.

The Serious Fraud Office say another scheme involved Michaels setting up a fake company to purchase a motel in Rotorua and asking for deposits of $353,025.

Michaels lost his appeal against an extradition order at the Brisbane Supreme Court in June.