Overview

• Gilbert, 45, admitted stalking and fraud and was sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
• Prosecutors said she invented “Carl Murphy” and a daughter “Katie” to fabricate a relationship that ensnared Michelle Oldham.
• Oldham sent thousands of pounds for gifts, a mobile phone and a fake Disneyland school trip, while about £4,000 in shopping was fraudulently taken out in her name.
• Police raided Gilbert’s home in October 2020, seizing phones and letters, and later found a voice‑changing app as the court detailed fabricated crises used to prolong the deception.
• The deception began in 2005, but the indictment spanned 2013–2020 due to legal limits, and Oldham continues counselling and has called for catfishing to be criminalised.