’I’ve been at this game a long time’: Romance scammer admits to years of lies and deception

W5's Jon Woodward reveals how one man dated and deceived multiple women while walking away with over $160,000 of their money.

This is part one of a three-part investigative series by CTV W5 into a how one man deceived many women he was dating, taking over $160,000.

For Annge Madill, it was a motorcycle. Her boyfriend, ‘Johnny Myers,’ had promised to sell it – but she never saw most of the money.

For Nicki McPhee, it was $30,000, invested in a business idea of a man she dated – but that money disappeared.

For Amy Todd, it was a $60,000 investment in a horse business she believed belonged to a man she was romantically involved with named ‘Jon Boulder’ – money she never got back.

It turned out all of those men were one and the same: 39-year-old Jon Mulder, who admitted to changing his name, his job and his story multiple times as he met women across Ontario — and left a trail of fraud and broken trust over years of deception.

“He comes off caring,” McPhee told W5 in an interview. “He’s very charismatic. He was a good singer. We were always singing country songs. We had a really good time together. And I guess that’s what got me to lower my guard quickly.”

McPhee, who learned Mulder’s true identity when she saw a CTV News story in 2023, said she was shocked to suddenly join a community of over 100 women who have been sharing pictures and details of Mulder to try to shed light on a man whose crimes were not always taken seriously by the authorities.

Videos show McPhee and Mulder driving in a truck and singing. Photos shown to W5 show Mulder in similar poses with different women -- even wearing the same motorcycle helmet.

On a website called “Are we dating the same man?,” women swapped other stories and photos, saying they met him on various dating sites, where he used similar pictures in each profile.

Seeing her relationship with Mulder echoed in other places and with other people underscored the realization that it was a lie, she said.

“I was shocked, shocked by the number. Shocked by his history as well,” she said.

Scattered court cases before 2023 appeared to end with Mulder disappearing, with a bench warrant issued, records show.

But, presented with evidence that the cases were linked, and if he was not stopped, other women would be at risk, the justice system responded, bringing many cases together in a Durham, Ont. courthouse.

In two hearings in mid-January, Mulder pleaded guilty to counts including fraud related to 13 women, totalling some $160,000 taken, as well as a motorcycle and a truck.

Mulder addressed the court, saying, “There’s nothing I can say to show any more remorse. What I’ve done was absolutely terrible. I hurt a lot of people…I’ve been at this game a long time.

“I take full ownership of the frauds that I committed and the people that I hurt…these people didn’t deserve to lose their money, the hurt and the pain and court appointments. I’m really trying to move forward with my best step,” he said.

Mulder was born in Toronto, in an upbringing his lawyer Michelle Farquhar said was “remarkable in its normalcy.” He went to Texas and got used to a lifestyle of riding and selling horses, but couldn’t make that same money in Canada without shortcuts, she said.

“There are many addictions that are widely recognized, and I say money is also addictive. You will not hear me offer any mitigation for the harm that was caused. But you might get an understanding how this led up here. His addiction led him down a self-destructive path,” she said.

Justice Jill Cameron didn’t buy that explanation.

“Nothing he can point to explains the life of crime he has chosen to lead. The only reasonable conclusion is greed,” Cameron said, then listing 79 previous criminal convictions between 2004 and 2017. About half were fraud, half were a breach or obstruction of justice, and a handful were for assault.

These are “sophisticated frauds,” she said. “These are intelligent women who did nothing wrong. Mr. Mulder is a master manipulator. He has perfected the art of deceit.”

Cameron agreed to the eight-year sentence jointly suggested by Farquhar and the Crown attorney Heather Cook. And she had a warning for Mulder.

“Given your track record, I have little doubt that absent the strongest possible message you will never stop. If you continue down this path you will … spend the rest of your life in jail in bits and pieces if you don’t stop,” Cameron said.

Annge Madill, who read a victim impact statement to the court, said she believes that Mulder is not as remorseful as he appeared to be.

“There wasn’t an ounce of remorse in his voice. Zero accountability,” she alleged, slamming the idea he was addicted to money. “Aren’t we all? But none of us scam people out of theirs, right? We make it truthfully.”

McPhee said she hopes people who hear about this are more cautious with the people they meet.

“I thought of scams as someone who’s going to call your grandparents and your grandkids in jail, or someone who is pretending to collect your taxes,” she said.

“I never thought that a scam would be someone who’s living in my house and telling me that they loved me,” she said.