By John Scheerhout,Monica Charsley

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A rich kid who was one step away from losing his wealth is now facing jail after he swindled more than £420,000 in a designer handbag scheme. Jack Watkin, 26, was used to luxury yacht trips, Christian Louboutin’s, and shopping for flash cars such as a Rolls Royce. But when his parents split up, he was no longer able to access the bank of mum and dad. The influencer, who featured in the Channel 4 documentary, The Rich Kids of Instagram, struggled to let the idea of being the son of a millionaire go. He was bankrupt and unemployed so decided to rip off his friends, family and associates in a botched high-end scam. One thing he was good at was playing the part of a fashionista socialite, so that’s exactly what he did. Watkin persuaded people to invest in a supposed lucrative business buying and selling exclusive Hermès handbags. But his victims, whom many are believed to be unaccounted for, were left out of pocket after he failed to hold up to his end of the scheme. One of his victims, Christine, who is the owner of a boutique called Dress Cheshire, said: “My little shop was a magnet for him of bags and a potential investment opportunity. He had handbags of mine he had not returned and money (for bags) he had not returned.”She was forced to reimburse one customer with £17,000 of her own money for a bag Watkin had taken for a potential sale and never gave back. “He paid me back little bits of money but by that time I knew I was into £100,000. I think he’s a complete loner who buys his own lies. He’s writing a history in his own head and he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with living his life with other people’s money. He’s a narcissist. As far as he’s concerned, they can afford it and they will carry on. He’s chosen his victims very carefully, a lot of them of such wealth that I know they have just written this off. It’s not even a £500,000 fraud. He’s had millions of pounds.” Now, the 26-year-old is behind bars, awaiting what a judge has promised will be a jail sentence after he admitted six counts of fraud against four people totalling £420,000 on the eve of his trial at Chester Crown Court in June. But police believe there are many more uber-wealth victims who are too embarrassed to make a statement. Det Con Gareth Yates, of the economic crime unit of Cheshire Police, said he was ‘fully aware there are more people out there’ who were defrauded by Watkin. His crimes began to unravel in the spring of 2024 when Christine and another victim arranged to meet him at The Merlin hotel in Alderley Edge where officers from Cheshire Police were there to arrest him in the car park. Cops seized two mobile phones from him which were analysed and were later found to contain hundreds of indecent images of children. When he was released on bail, Watkin failed to show up as required for another police interview and he was circulated as ‘wanted’ by the force, reports Manchester Evening News . He was arrested again at Macclesfield train station on a service from London, which cops described as his ‘playground’. DC Yates described Watkin as ‘arrogant’ and a ‘classic entitled rich-kid’. The detective continued: “People were queuing up for his services because of the demand for this brand. It created this mayhem and frenzy. People wanted these bags because you just couldn’t get them.” The officer added: “He was from a wealth family. Unfortunately his mum and dad split up and as a result of that he was left floundering in this world where he had been used to a luxury lifestyle.” Judge Simon Berkson has warned Watkin he faces jail when he is sentenced. He will also be sentenced on five counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of possessing indecent images of a child, possessing prohibited images and possessing an extreme pornographic image. A further count of fraud and two counts of theft were ordered to lie on file. Watkin was remanded in custody after he admitted the fraud charges where he has remained ever since, holed up at HMP Altcourse in Merseyside which is one of the country’s most infamous prisons. Senior Crown Prosecutor Laura Atherton, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Jack Watkin was a serial liar who funded his luxury lifestyle by defrauding others, including his own father and a long-time friend, of large sums of money over several years. He would tell his victims that he had connections that could source luxury goods for them, predominantly handbags such as Birkins and Hermès, or that he could get them himself. “Some of the victims wanted the bags for themselves or as gifts to others. Others thought they were entering into a genuine business opportunity, lending Watkin money to buy luxury items that he’d told them would generate a profit.” Atherton added: “This case has been a complicated one with many layers, and the Crown Prosecution Service has worked diligently alongside Cheshire Police to bring justice to the victims of Watkin’s offending. The CPS would like to thank both the police and the victims for their help and cooperation in bringing Jack Watkin to justice.”