Fraudster swindles own family and friends out of £200k to live life of luxury

The court heard Watkin convinced six people to invest in exclusive Hermes handbags between 2021 and 2024, claiming he had special connections to acquire the sought-after items.

These designer bags, available only to selected customers by invitation, command high resale values due to their exclusivity.

Watkin admitted to fraud charges totalling more than £195,000 after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

Among those defrauded was longtime friend Hannah Jaques, who lost £98,500 to Watkin after knowing him since he was 14 years old.

His own father, Jason Watkin, a chief executive of a large company, was conned out of £24,500, with the court hearing he received no repayment whilst watching his son's extravagant spending on social media.

Christine Colbert, who owns Dress Cheshire boutique in Prestbury Village, fell victim to £43,800 worth of fraud.

Other victims included James Irlam, who lost £13,000 after being told Watkin had a personal relationship with Hermes's director, Harrods barman Andor Farkas who was defrauded of £14,500, and Naheem Akhtar who paid £840 for designer shoes he never received.

The fraudster spent approximately £140,000 staying at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel in London, prosecutor Matthew Kerruish-Jones told the court.

Despite having no employment or legitimate income, Watkin managed to spend £1.2million between April 2019 and October 2021 before being declared bankrupt.

His extravagant lifestyle included drinking at exclusive bars and purchasing luxury items such as Versace crockery, designer clothing and footwear and fast cars.

The 26-year-old, who featured in Channel 4's Rich Kids Of Instagram programme in 2016, maintained an illusion of wealth whilst using his victims' money to fund his spending habits.

Detective Constable Gareth Yates from Cheshire Constabulary's economic crime unit said Watkin "deluded himself that he was a successful rich kid influencer" whilst stealing from wealthy individuals.

Ms Colbert told the court she felt "ashamed, foolish, stupid and sick", describing how Watkin's actions had "left me lasting scars that no-one can see."

She revealed that Watkin "groomed and took advantage of my good nature" and targeted her shop, which she described as her life's work within a community of likeminded people.

Ms Jaques stated her decade-long friendship with Watkin, who attended her wedding in southern France, "turned out to be a complete lie", describing him as "jealous, greedy and narcissistic."

In a separate case he was found guilty by a jury of possessing and making indecent images of children, which were found on his phone by investigators after his fraud arrests.

He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for the fraud offences and an additional 18 months for the indecent images.

Judge Simon Berkson told him: “You used an outward persona of someone who was wealthy and well connected in order to dupe victims with your fraudulent behaviour.

“You described yourself as a millionaire and talked about your knowledge of luxury products.

“You suggested you could be a person who could be trusted with other people’s money. Your true motivation was to defraud people of out their money and spend it all on yourself.”

Rebecca Caulfield, defending, said: “It is pertinent to note that the enterprise was not fraudulent from the outset. He believed this business would fund his lifestyle.

“There came a point that what began as a legitimate business turned into something that became fraudulent and that he lost control of, which led to him borrowing money that he could not pay back.”

She pointed to his “lack of emotional maturity” at the time and the suggestion of a direct link between his autism and his offending behaviour.

She added: “He expresses genuine remorse for his offending behaviour.”