A man who described himself as the “Kardashian of Cheshire” has pleaded guilty to fraud after conning people out of thousands of pounds he claimed was for luxury handbags. Jack Watkin, 26, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud, worth a total of more than £195,000 on the second day of his trial at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday.
The jury heard he gained his victims’ trust with an “outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle”. Watkin, who appeared in Channel 4 documentary Rich Kids Of Instagram in 2016, was warned by Judge Simon Berkson he faces a prison sentence.
He spent his money in Harrods and staying in five-star London hotel The Dorchester, where he had a bill of more than £100,000, police said. Speaking outside court, victim Christine Colbert said she had been “hugely betrayed” by Watkin, but she was pleased with the outcome.
She said: “I have absolutely no idea what is in his mind and what he thought. I don’t think he’s worked a day in his life. He’s rewritten history in his own mind and that’s a fantasy world that he lives in. He thinks it’s OK to live off other people’s money.”
Detective Constable Gareth Yates said: “Jack Watkin is a male who has built a lifestyle on social media, on Instagram, and that lifestyle is one of exuberance. So, if anyone was to look at that profile, you would see fancy hotels, luxury cars, designer clothing, and he created a following, and that following allowed him to create a ruse to be the fraudster we now know, and convicted fraudster.”
He added: “He often described himself as the Kardashian of Cheshire. What my understanding from that would be is that he is an individual of wealth and has the ability to purchase wealthy items. As a result of that he then gets notoriety, from an Instagram perspective, followers, people. People follow him with the desire to be him.”
Opening the trial on Monday, Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, said: “The defendant put forward the outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle. This, it seems, engendered trust and led a number of individuals to loan him large sums of money on the promise of either a financial return, or luxury items. Neither of which materialised.”
He said complainants would be left “out of pocket for large sums of money”. He added: “The defendant would make excuses and avoid the complainants, all the while spending large sums of money on maintaining his seemingly lavish lifestyle.”
Watkin was said to have told victims their money would be used to buy Hermes handbags, which were then to be sold on for a profit. The jury was told bag purchases from Hermes were only allowed to select registered customers and, because of their exclusivity, the bags often attracted a value far in excess of their original price when resold.
Watkin’s victims included friend Hannah Jakes, who he admitted defrauding of £98,500, and Ms Colbert, owner of Dress Cheshire, who was defrauded of £43,800. He also defrauded his father, Jason Watkin, 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 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 the money for a pair of Lora Piana shoes which he never received.
Judge Berkson told Watkin: “You have today pleaded guilty to a number of charges of fraud. Those charges are serious and involve a significant amount of loss to victims of your fraud. There’s no doubt only one sentence must follow from those guilty pleas.” A further count of fraud and two counts of theft were ordered to lie on file.
Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was convicted earlier this year of nine offences related to indecent images. He was remanded in custody before his sentence on September 3.
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