Arthur Rex Crane, the former president of the Ex-Prisoners of War Association of Australia, appeared briefly in the Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning.

He was charged with fraud and obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Mr Crane, 83, stood still and looked towards the magistrate as his lawyer indicated he would plead guilty at the next court appearance.

The defence successfully sought an adjournment to February 12 next year.

Mr Crane, wearing a suit and holding an Akubra hat, did not speak in court today. He will be released on bail.

The allegations about his fraud surfaced publicly last month, prompting his step-granddaughter Caroline Smalley, 27, to declare she felt "embarrassed and insulted".

Mr Crane did not say a word as he left court.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed last month that Mr Crane had claimed he had been abandoned in Malaya at the age of 15, when the Japanese invaded, and was forced to enlist in a volunteer militia.

He allegedly told his family and friends he had been tortured by Japanese soldiers at the Outram Road Jail and on the Thailand-Burma Railway.

However, three military historians allegedly discovered he was attending Adelaide High School in 1941, about the same time he claimed to have been forced to join the Kedah Volunteer Force in Malaya.

Since 1988, he had allegedly received the highest available pension for incapacitated soldiers, as well as a Commonwealth Gold Card to cover medical expenses.