Jack Watkin jailed six years for fraud, child images

Jack Watkin, 26, a self-styled “Kardashian of Cheshire” and former Rich Kids of Instagram participant, has been jailed for six years after admitting frauds that duped friends, family and associates out of nearly £200,000 in a fake Hermès handbag investment scheme. He cultivated an outward persona of wealth to persuade victims — including his father and boutique owner Christine Colbert — to lend tens of thousands of pounds for exclusive handbags that were never delivered while he funded a lavish lifestyle including Harrods, yachts and a Dorchester hotel bill of more than £100,000. Cheshire Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit launched its investigation after a victim inadvertently paid his Dorchester bill and became suspicious, tracing many victims and uncovering that Watkin spent about £1.2m between 2019 and 2021 and later became bankrupt. Forensic downloads from his phones found hundreds of indecent images, including category A child images and extreme pornography; he was sentenced to 4½ years for the fraud and a further 18 months for the image offences, totalling six years' imprisonment. Victims received neither the handbags nor promised resale profits, and police warned they may have only "just scratched the surface" of losses caused by his long-running deception.