Fraudster jailed after conning victims out of total of £50,000

During the incidents, which occurred between 4 January and 5 February 2025, an unknown person would call the victims, impersonating a police officer or bank investigator, and request their assistance in an investigation. It would require the victims to hand over cash or bank cards for evidence and jewellery for safekeeping.

Butters would then attend the addresses of victims, also impersonating a police officer, and collect the items. Butters would use the bank cards to make thousands of pounds worth of purchases.

During the incident in Runcorn, the victim was told that elderly residents in the area had recently had their fingers broken during robberies in which their jewellery was stolen. They were then persuaded to hand over more than £9,000 worth of jewellery to be kept safe by Butters.

Following CCTV and other extensive enquiries, Butters was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation on 11 February 2025 by Merseyside Police, who then charged him with four offences. These spanned Merseyside, Thames Valley, Lancashire and Derbyshire. The victims were aged between 74 and 86.

He was subsequently identified and charged by Cheshire Constabulary for a further five offences which occurred in Runcorn, South Yorkshire, Humberside and Greater Manchester, with the victims aged between 74 and 85.

Detective Constable Joe Duckworth, who led the Cheshire investigation, said:

“I welcome the custodial sentence handed to Butters, who purposefully chose to target elderly victims to make what he thought was some quick cash, cruelly at the expense of innocent, vulnerable people.

“As this case demonstrates, we will work together with other police forces across the country to track down these offenders and bring them before the courts where they will face the consequences of their despicable actions. 

“Fraudsters can be extremely convincing, and many people may think they would never be a victim to this kind of crime, however this really can happen to anyone. These offenders have sophisticated ways of persuading people to follow their instructions. They are callous criminals and will go to great lengths to get you to trust them.

“Officers in Cheshire are sadly seeing an increase in this type of fraud offence, called courier fraud. The people these fraudsters target are typically the most honest and trusting members of our communities and we are finding that if someone calls and says they are a police officer, they aren’t usually challenged.

"As a community, we all need to work together to get the message out there, to our friends, family, loved ones, the vulnerable and elderly, that this crime is on the increase and police officers would never ask anyone for money or for you to hand over valuable items – as a result of a fraud ‘they are investigating’, to help with ‘an ongoing investigation’, or any other reason.”

If you believe that you have been a victim of courier fraud, please contact Cheshire Police on 101, using a different phone to the one used to communicate with the fraudsters if they were on a landline. You can also report information to us via cheshire.police.uk/tell-us.

You can report to Action Fraud via actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Call 999 immediately in an emergency or if you suspect a fraud is currently in progress.

Please see some crime prevention advice: 

• Be sceptical of unexpected calls, texts or visits, even from those who claim to be officials.
• Don’t be afraid to stop the conversation with a brief ‘no, thank you’.
• Never give personal information, such as your date of birth or bank details, to unexpected callers.
• Remember, criminals will use urgency or threats to cause panic and fear. When you are under stress you are less likely to think clearly about your actions.
• The police or your bank would never unexpectedly ask you to withdraw cash, hand over valuables, or move your money to another account, as a result of fraud or any other reason.
• If callers suggest you call your local police or bank to check who they are, use another phone or hang up and ensure the line has been fully disconnected by phoning a friend or relative first, or by waiting at least five minutes. Otherwise, you may think you’ve phoned a number, but you’re simply talking to the fraudsters again. This is a common tactic used by fraudsters to landline calls.
• If a caller asks you to type your bank PIN number into your telephone handset - do not do this, as fraudsters can use technology to identify the numbers.
• You can opt out of many cold calls by registering for free with the Telephone Preference Service on 0845 070 0707.