A US man has been accused of pretending to have Down syndrome so he could hire carers to bath him and change his nappies, police have said.

Paul Anthony Menchaca, 31, was arrested at his parents’ home in Gilbert, Arizona on September 6 after his female caregivers discovered he didn’t have special needs, news station KTNV reported.

The first caregiver responded in May to an ad on CareLinx, a site designed to help families find qualified helpers, the New York Post reports.

Mr Menchaca contacted and hired the carer while allegedly posing as a woman named “Amy,” who claimed to be the mother of a man with Down syndrome, according to AZFamily.

“‘Amy’ asked all three victims to ‘punish’ [Mr Menchaca] when he soiled his diaper by putting him in time-out and taking away his privileges,” an arrest affidavit obtained by AZFamily said.

The caregiver told police that she helped bath and change the man’s nappies on 30 separate occasions. In five separate incidents, Mr Menchaca reportedly told her that his genitalia were not cleaned well enough.

She then referred the second caregiver in July and the third the following month.

All three women agreed to the same terms, and claimed that Mr Menchaca would become sexually aroused when he was being washed.

The first victim told police she became suspicious and followed Mr Mechaca back to his parents’ home.

“[The victim] was greeted by [Mr Menchaca’s] actual mother and father and discovered [Mr Menchaca] did not have Down syndrome and did not require diaper changes,” the police report said.

Menchaca now faces charges for fraudulent schemes and sexual abuse.

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was republished here with permission.