Self-proclaimed ‘Kardashian of Cheshire’ admits luxury handbag scam

A man who pretended to live a “glamorous and luxurious” lifestyle while he conned people out of thousands of pounds in a designer handbag scam has pleaded guilty to fraud.

Jack Watkin, 26, who once starred in a Channel 4 documentary called Rich Kids of Instagram in 2016, described himself as the “Kardashian of Cheshire”, police say.

He persuaded people to invest huge sums – which he claimed was to buy and sell luxury handbags – but left them out of pocket.

Instead, he spent the money in Harrods and on stays at The Dorchester, a five-star London hotel on the famous Park Lane, a court heard.

A jury at Chester Crown Court heard how he gained his victims’ trust by putting forward an “outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle”.

On Tuesday, the second day of his trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud.

Prosecutor Matthew Kerruish-Jones told the jury that Watkin “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.

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.

He defrauded his father and best friend

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

He also defrauded his father, Jason Watkin, of £24,500.

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 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.

He 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.

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.”

Watkin was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 3 September. He was warned by Judge Simon Berkson he faces a prison sentence.