Rich Kids of Instagram star admits Hermes bag scam

A "charismatic and persuasive" conman who promised his victims high returns on investments in high-end Hermes handbags but instead spent their money on a "glamorous and luxurious lifestyle" has admitted fraud.

Jack Watkin, who appeared in Channel 4's Rich Kids Of Instagram documentary series, gained his victims' trust by putting forward an "outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle", Chester Crown Court heard.

Cheshire Police said instead of investing the funds he raised, he travelled to London to buy luxury items in Harrods and stay at the five-star Dorchester hotel.

The 26-year-old, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud on the second day of his trial.

A police spokesman said Watkin defrauded businesses and individuals to the value of more than £200,000.

Watkin's trial was told his scam centred around exclusive handbags, such as the Hermes Birkin, which are sold by invitation only by the French fashion house, a process which can make them a lucrative investment as the resale value can be much higher than the original price.

New Birkin bags can start at about £8,000 each, but second-hand ones have fetched huge sums at auction, with one being sold for £253,700 in Hong Kong in 2017.

Watkin told his victims he had the contacts that could give them access to the handbags and that they could split the profits made on resale.

He duped one woman into handing over thousands thinking she was investing in the the luxury handbag when she was in fact paying his bills at the Dorchester.

She, like the others, never received the handbags or their share in the profits of their resale.

The Crown Prosecution Service said during the investigation, police also discovered indecent images of children on Watkin's mobile, including some from the most serious category of images.

Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court Watkin "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.

He said those he convinced to invest would be left "out of pocket for large sums of money".

"The defendant would make excuses and avoid the complainants, all the while spending large sums of money on maintaining his seemingly lavish lifestyle," he added.

Watkin, who was remanded in custody, was convicted earlier this year of nine offences relating to the indecent images.

He is due to be sentenced for all his offences on 3 September.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Con Gareth Yates said Watkin was someone "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."

Senior crown prosecutor Laura Atherton said some of the frauds had taken place across "several years" and the case had been "a complicated one with many layers".

She said some victims "wanted the bags for themselves or as gifts to others" while others thought they were "entering into a genuine business opportunity".

"It was all lies," she said.

"Most of the goods and profits never materialised and the loans were never repaid in full.

"Clearly, to be able to convince an individual for that length of time that you are going to repay money and you are going to provide goods, you have to be an incredibly charismatic and persuasive person."

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