Man accused of posing as a millionaire on social media to scam rich friends and relatives out of £420,000 of designer Hermes handbags

A fraudster posed as a millionaire and scammed rich friends and relatives out of more than 420,000 by persuading them to invest in his fake designer handbag business, a court heard today. Jack Watkin, 26, is alleged to have offered a business opportunity to people who would loan him large sums of money, with the promise that it would be used to buy exclusive Hermes handbags he would sell at a profit. Opening his trial at Chester Crown Court, Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, told the jury, This case is about handbags. He said Watkin defrauded six complainants out of sums, including his father, Jason Watkin, who loaned him more than 29,000. He said: The defendant put forward the outward faade 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 complainants would be left out of pocket for large sums of money.He added: The defendant would make excuses and avoid the complainants, all the while spending large sums of money on maintaining his seemingly lavish lifestyle. The jury was told bag purchases from Hermes were only allowed to select registered customers and, because of their exclusivity, the bags often attracted a value far in excess of their original price when resold. The court heard Jason Watkin loaned his son money in 2019 after he approached him with a business proposition. He was not repaid, but could see from social media his son was spending lavishly on his lifestyle, the jury was told. Mr Kerruish-Jones said: For the next year or so, Mr Watkin repeatedly asked for his money back. He was increasingly concerned that his money had not been used to purchase a bag but had in fact gone to the defendant funding his lifestyle. The jury was told Watkin approached Christine Colbert, who resold designer bags and clothing through her Prestbury shop Dress Cheshire, in 2020, and told her his name was Jack Holding. Ms Colbert loaned the defendant a total of 91,000 between July 2021 and November 2022 but he only paid back 47,200, the court heard. He is also alleged to have stolen two handbags, a blue Hermes bag valued at 21,000 and a Goyard bag worth 8,000, from Ms Colbert.The court heard Hannah Jakes had been friends with Watkin for more than 10 years and loaned him a total of 321,800, but was only repaid 88,300. Ms Jakes got in touch with Ms Colbert in 2024 after seeing an Instagram post and it became clear he had defrauded them both in a similar way, Mr Kerruish-Jones said. Following their discussions, Ms Jakes arranged to meet the defendant and Ms Colbert called the police, leading to his arrest. The jury was told another of the complainants was Andor Farkas, who worked as a barman in Harrods where Watkin was a regular customer.As well as loaning him 1,000 in cash and transferring him 3,000, Mr Farkas allowed Watkin to use his credit card to borrow about 10,000, it is alleged. Mr Kerruish-Jones said Mr Farkar trusted Watkin due to his assurances he was a millionaire. The court heard Naheem Akhtar, who gave 840 to Watkin for a pair of Lora Piana shoes which he never received, said the defendant gave the perception on social media that he was a millionaire and involved in the fashion industry. James Irlam, who allegedly lost 65,500 to the defendant, was told by Watkin he had a personal relationship with the director of Hermes and was able to source handbags, the jury was told. He agreed to loan him money after buying a Hermes Birkin bag for 11,500 from Watkin as a present for his wifes birthday. Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, denies seven counts of fraud and two counts of theft. He claims the transactions were legitimate, the jury was told.The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.The post Man accused of posing as a millionaire on social media to scam rich friends and relatives out of 420,000 of designer Hermes handbags appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.