Police have now identified a person wanted in relation to a number of fraud related matters.
Police said the crimes had been committed across the Bay of Plenty District and involved the offender duping hotels for accommodation, tourists for cash in exchange for bogus employment offers, and the theft of a rental vehicle.
Police now want to speak with Darren Thomas Takiaho, aged 49.
Takiaho is transient, and is known to use a variety of false names.
He is Maori, medium to solid build, 187 cm tall, has short black receding hairline and is missing front teeth. He has a distinctive tattoo of a guitar on his left forearm.