LANCASTER, Ohio - A man California authorities call the "Serial Sweetheart Swindler" has been arrested in Ohio after a 15-month search.

Nick Adams obtained his nickname because he is accused of dating single senior citizen women, convincing them he's wealthy, then borrowing large sums of money and disappearing, said Sgt. Chris Forsyth, an investigator with the prosecutor's office in California's Contra Costa County.

Adams, 57, of El Cerrito, Calif., was arrested Thursday evening at Psychic Tarot Card Readings in Lancaster, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus.

He's wanted in Contra Costa County on felony charges of financial elder abuse, securities fraud and attempting to dissuade a witness by threats of force and violence. Most of the victims were from the San Francisco Bay area.

California officials had tipped Lancaster detectives about a week earlier that Adams might be visiting friends in the region.

Adams was in the Fairfield County Jail on Saturday awaiting extradition to California, which has placed a $1 million bond on him, Lancaster Sgt. Mike Peters said. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.

In one case, a 70-year-old woman from Brentwood, Calif., lost more than $150,000 between May 2000 and January 2001, Forsyth said.