A Nanaimo man who has been scamming money from women he dated from Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver has been caught.

On March 1 around 2:30 a.m., Nanaimo RCMP arrested 34-year-old Jordan David Shepherd after locating him sleeping in a vehicle outside a motel.

Ladysmith RCMP had issued a Canada-wide warrant for Shepherd on February 28. He was wanted on five counts of fraud under $5,000 from Nanaimo, and one count each from Ladysmith and New Westminster. The allegations took place between February and August in 2017.

Shepherd, who also used the name Dave Rofter, targeted women in their mid-20s to early 30s whom he had met either in person, on social media, or on online dating websites, such as Plenty of Fish.

After befriending a woman, he would claim he had lost his bank card and was unable to access his account. He would then ask the woman to deposit a cheque, in amounts varying from $1,000 to $1,600, from his fake business On the Rocks Surveying. After they withdrew the equivalent amount to give to him, he would vanish and the women would later be informed by their bank that the cheque had bounced.

After Nanaimo RCMP posted information about Shepherd on social media, numerous tips came in and several more victims came forward who will meet with investigators. Shepherd has blond hair and blue eyes; is 6-feet, 1-inch tall; and weighs about 230 pounds. He has a tattoo of a crown on his right wrist and a tattoo that says "No Regrets" on his right upper arm.

He was scheduled to appear in Nanaimo provincial court on March 1.