Blackmailer who demanded money from Wigan cat lovers in return for their pets is jailed

Among the people Brandon Woolveridge preyed on were a number of Wigan cat lovers who received malicious phone calls after they posted appeals on social media for help with finding their missing pets.

Woolveridge, 24, lied and told them he had their animals. He then demanded money be paid into various bank accounts in return for them getting the pets back, sometimes threatening he would kill the animals if he did not get what he wanted.

Some victims paid money, with Woolveridge even laughing at one pet owner after she had sent him £1,000, saying: “Now I can buy a new car.”

Officers launched Operation Façade after it became apparent that many reports across the country featured strong similarities – and appeared to be linked to Cumbria.

It led to the arrest of Woolveridge, who admitted nine counts of blackmail after facing the case put together by detectives and prosecutors.

He also asked for 73 other similar offences to be taken into consideration when he appeared at Preston Crown Court.

Recorder Blakey, presiding, stated: “You preyed on the vulnerability of the owners of these animals. You didn’t care one jot about their feelings. You took advantage of their feelings and exacerbated their hurt. You knew they were easy targets and that they would pay you”.

Woolveridge, previously of Melbourne Street, Barrow In Furness, Cumbria, was sentenced on Thursday (October 26) to a jail term of three years and eight months.

Examples of Woolveridge’s offences included: Telling a victim that he had her lost dog and stating he would kill it if she did not pay £1,000;

Telling another owner he would use his female dog for breeding and he would never see his pet again.

Claiming to have one victim’s dog that had gone missing and threatening to shoot the pet if the owner put the phone down and did not pay £1,000;

Woolveridge was caught after analysis of phone evidence linked him to the cases.

Emma Taylor, 39, from Swinley, is among those who are believed to have been targeted by Woolveridge, after her Bengal-cross cat Ziggy went missing earlier this year.

She said at the time: “It’s been gut-wrenching for us. There have been no sightings, he’s just vanished off the face of the Earth.

“I went on social media to put out an appeal for information and then I realised that other cats had gone missing just streets away from where we are. We believe he’s been stolen because he’s part pedigree.

“The gang rang me twice for money. The first time, we received a phone call to say that this guy has got my cat and he was fine. Then his manner changed and he became quite aggressive, saying ‘If you want to see him, we want some money’. He wanted £500 or said ‘We’ll get rid of your cat’.

“After another week we got a second call and they now said they wanted £1,000. One of them came on and said they knew where we lived and they’ll come back and burn our house down. This made it a more serious incident. It’s terrifying.”

Detective Inspector Amanda Sykes, of the force’s major incident team, spoke after the sentencing.

She said: “Woolveridge’s victims were already extremely distressed at the loss of their much loved pets, when he cruelly chose to prey on them.

“He then made this ordeal even more traumatic by firstly raising their hopes that their pet would be returned, then frightening them into believing he would harm their pets if he did not get money.

“They would then have their hopes dashed and their money taken when they realised this was all a lie.

“I would like to thank the victims of these dreadful crimes for coming forward and supporting this investigation. Although we know they will always suffer from the loss of their pets, we truly hope that seeing Woolveridge appear in court will offer some sense of justice.”

She added: “Operation Façade has been a very complex investigation, with over 200 victims to date identified from across the whole of the United Kingdom. The investigation is continuing, and we will pursue anyone who has been involved in these blackmail offences or handling the money taken from the victims.

“While we totally understand why people would offer money to get back a much-loved pet, we would like to take this opportunity to offer the following advice.

“We would urge people who have lost pets not to send reward money without doing extensive checks that the claim is legitimate – and the pet has been found by that person.

“Checks could involve conducting a video call with the person to see your pet with them – or asking for new photos of your pet; if you do this please check carefully to make sure any photo is genuine.

“If you have concerns that the person who has contacted you may be acting fraudulently, then please do not give them any money or personal information and contact the police.”

Woolveridge was also sentenced yesterday for a separate incident which occurred in Barrow on February 3 2023.

The court heard how Woolveridge stole a wheelchair, worth £2000, which belonged to a vulnerable young girl and damaged it so badly her family had to replace it.