A shameless conman who branded himself the “Kardashian of Cheshire” now faces jail after admitting defrauding people out of thousands of pounds he claimed was for luxury handbags. Jack Watkin, 26, once appeared in Channel 4 documentary Rich Kids Of Instagram in 2016 and a jury heard he gained his victims’ trust with an “outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle”.
But instead of spending investors’ funds, totalling over £195,000, into exclusive luxury goods he could then sell onto his army of social media followers for profit – he squandered the loaned cash on maintaining his fake, jet-set lifestyle. Police said he openly hailed himself as the “Kardashian of Cheshire” a reference to US social media fashion and lifestyle influencer Kim Kardashian, 44, who boasts 356 million Instagram followers, 10 million on TikTok and 75 million on X.
On Tuesday at Chester Crown Court, on the second day of his trial, he pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud and was warned by Judge Simon Berkson he now faces a prison sentence.
A further count of fraud and two counts of theft were ordered to lie on file. He was convicted earlier this year of nine offences related to indecent images.
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, Cheshire Police said.
In a 2016 article about his lifestyle – before he had started commiting fraud – he made wild claims about shopping sprees.
He claimed: “Fashion is my main expenditure. People should come to the charity shops near me because I donate all my Balmain blazers that are out-of-season to them!
“Most of my outfits are worth around £10,000 to £15,000. But when it comes to jewellery or watches, there’s no limit. My most expensive piece is a £500,000 watch.”
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 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, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was remanded in custody before his sentence on September 3rd.
Prosecutor Matthew Kerruish-Jones told the opening of Watkin’s trial how he “put forward the outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle.”
Mr Kerruish-Jones added: “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.”
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.
The prosecutor 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’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.
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.”
Det Con Yates added: “Watkin’s victims lost thousands and for some, their reputation was negatively affected when deals were unable to be honoured because of Watkin’s criminal enterprise.
“Watkin’s 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.”