A man who called himself the “Kardashian of Cheshire” has been jailed for fraud and indecent image offences after conning victims, including his own father, out of nearly £200,000. Jack Watkin, 26, of Alderley Edge, portrayed himself as a wealthy and well-connected reseller of Hermès handbags to persuade six people to lend him money for investments.
Watkin claimed he had special access to the exclusive bags, which are only sold to selected customers, and promised his victims a share of the profits from resales. Instead, he spent the £195,464.81 he obtained on a lavish lifestyle, posting images of exotic holidays, supercars and stays at five-star hotels such as the Dorchester in Mayfair.
He admitted six fraud offences in June at Chester Crown Court, where he was on trial. Separately, in April, he had been found guilty of possessing indecent images of children and extreme pornographic material. Police who examined his phone after his arrest found more than 600 distressing images, including nearly 300 category A photographs, the worst type of child abuse images, and 68 videos.
On Monday, Watkin was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for the fraud offences and an additional 18 months for nine indecent image offences, to run consecutively. Judge Berkson said Watkin “clearly” had an interest in viewing “the most vile indecent images of children” and had continued downloading such images while on bail.
Detective Constable Gareth Yates of Cheshire Police’s economic crime unit said: “Not only did Watkin deceive his victims by befriending them and taking thousands from them, but he was also hiding a depraved secret habit, sickening his victims further after his hideous secret was uncovered when his mobile phones were downloaded by specialist officers. It was never going to end well, and his downfall was inevitable.”
