‘Kardashian of Cheshire’ jailed over luxury handbags scam

A fraudster who dubbed himself “the Kardashian of Cheshire” has been jailed for six years after he conned people out of thousands of pounds in a luxury handbags scam.

Jack Watkin, 26, used an “outward persona of someone wealthy and well connected” to dupe his victims, who included several friends and even his own father.

He persuaded them to loan him large sums of money to invest in the purchase of Hermes handbags which were then to be sold on for a profit.

Such bags were only allowed to selected registered customers and, because of their exclusivity, the bags often attracted a resale value far more than the original price, Chester Crown Court heard.

The investors were left out of pocket as Watkin used their cash to fund a luxury lifestyle which included running up a £140,000 bill at London’s Dorchester Hotel.

Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, had no job and no income but spent £1.2 million between April 2019 and October 2021 before he was made bankrupt.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to six counts of fraud totalling more than £195,000.

In a separate case he was found guilty by a jury of possessing and making indecent images of children, which were found on his phone by investigators after his fraud arrests.

On Monday, he was sentenced to four and a half years in jail for the fraud offences and an additional 18 months for the indecent images.

Judge Simon Berkson told him: “You used an outward persona of someone who was wealthy and well connected in order to dupe victims with your fraudulent behaviour.

“You described yourself as a millionaire and talked about your knowledge of luxury products.

“You suggested you could be a person who could be trusted with other people’s money. Your true motivation was to defraud people of out their money and spend it all on yourself.”

Watkin’s victims included friend Hannah Jakes, who he admitted defrauding of £98,500, and Christine Colbert, owner of Prestbury Village store Dress Cheshire, who was defrauded of £43,800.

He also defrauded his father Jason Watkin – described in court as a “chief executive officer of a large company” – of £24,500.

The court heard Mr Watkin was not repaid, but could see from social media his son was “spending lavishly on his lifestyle”.

Watkin – who appeared in Channel 4 documentary Rich Kids Of Instagram in 2016 – also admitted fraud of more than £13,000 on James Irlam, who was told by Watkin he had a personal relationship with the director of Hermes and was able to source handbags.

Andor Farkas, a barman at Harrods, was victim of a £14,000 fraud and had believed Watkin, a regular customer, was a millionaire, the court heard.

Watkin also pleaded guilty to the £840 fraud of Naheem Akhtar, who the court heard had given Watkin money for a pair of Lora Piana shoes which he never received.

Ms Colbert read her victim personal statement from the witness box as Watkin looked on from the dock.

She said she had felt “ashamed, foolish, stupid and sick” and that Watkin’s actions had “left me lasting scars that no-one can see”.

She said: “Not only did he attempt to steal my credibility and livelihood but he also groomed and took advantage of my good nature.”

Ms Colbert said when she finally realised she had been scammed she decided to warn others on Instagram to “stay away” from the fraudster, but was met with threats of legal action from Watkin who referred to her as “the Witch of Prestbury”.

In her victim personal statement, Ms Jakes said her 10-year friendship with Watkin – who attended her wedding in the south of France – “turned out to be a complete lie”.

She said he took advantage of her good nature and labelled him as “jealous, greedy and narcissistic”.

Watkin’s father said he hoped his son would use his time in custody to reflect on the “enormous damage” he had caused to his victims and his own family.

Mr Farkas told the court he had been left in a “dire financial situation” by the defendant who had “knowingly manipulated and deceived him, leaving him in crisis and showing no remorse whatsover”.

Rebecca Caulfield, defending, said: “It is pertinent to note that the enterprise was not fraudulent from the outset. He believed this business would fund his lifestyle.

“There came a point that what began as a legitimate business turned into something that became fraudulent and that he lost control of, which led to him borrowing money that he could not pay back.”

She pointed to his “lack of emotional maturity” at the time and the suggestion of a direct link between his autism and his offending behaviour.

She added: “He expresses genuine remorse for his offending behaviour.”

Detective Constable Gareth Yates, of Cheshire Constabulary’s economic crime unit, said: “Watkin deluded himself that he was a successful rich kid influencer.

“But in reality he was stealing money from wealthy individuals under the guise of ‘business opportunities’ to fund his expensive habit of fast cars, luxury goods, including Versace crockery, and designer footwear and clothing.

“It was never going to end well, and his downfall was inevitable. Eventually his lies caught up with him and he is now facing the consequences of his deceit, and his perversions.

“Whether his other victims come forward with their losses, only time will tell.”