Latest news with #ChesterCrownCourt
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Actions of quick-thinking police officer lead to downfall of cocaine crook
The actions of a quick-thinking police officer led to the downfall of a drug dealer from Greater Manchester, who had been selling cocaine across Cheshire. At 8.45am on May 24 this year, the officer from Cheshire Constabulary stopped a vehicle in Northwich. The driver mentioned she was collecting a man named Enrico Poli from an address in Dock Road, Northwich, where he had been staying with a friend. READ MORE: Dad dies minutes after sitting down to eat sandwich READ MORE: Friends left stunned at Manchester Airport after landing £24,000 in terminal Recognising the address and the friend's name from intelligence about drug-related activity in the area, the officer alerted colleagues. At 9.02am, a colleague attended the address in Dock Road to conduct enquiries in relation to this intelligence when they saw a man, later identified as Poli, leave the property and quickly walk away, without acknowledging the officer. The officer attempted to engage with Poli, who refused to give any details and carried on walking, before the officer stopped him. The 34-year-old was found in possession of £345 in cash and a snap bag of cocaine. At Chester Crown Court Poli, aged 34, of Riding Close, Sale, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to five years and seven months in jail. Police Constable Andy Collict said: "I welcome the substantial custodial sentence handed to Poli and I hope this sends a stark warning to anyone who thinks they can come to Northwich to sell drugs and get away with it. 'It was thanks to intelligence about drug activity in the area and officer intuition that Poli was caught as he tried to flee an address and he was left with no choice but to plead guilty to the offences. 'If you have any information about drugs offences in your community, please contact us via 101 or through our website and we'll do the rest.'
Metro
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Kardashian of Cheshire' conned friends out of £200,000 in Hermes handbag scam
A wannabe millionaire who described himself as the 'Kardashian of Cheshire' while scamming rich friends and his own dad out of £200,000 is facing jail. Jack Watkin, 26, used social media to paint a picture of himself as living a life of luxury, which he then used to persuade those close to him to part with huge sums of money. The former public schoolboy, who once appeared in Channel 4 documentary Rich Kids Of Instagram, said their money would be used to buy Hermes handbags, which would then be sold on for profit. But Chester Crown Court heard neither the designer bags nor the promised profit ever materialised. Instead, Watkin blew the cash on his lavish lifestyle, spending thousands in Harrods and staying in five-star London hotel The Dorchester, where he racked up a bill of more than £100,000. He pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud, worth a total of more than £195,000 on the second day of his trial on Tuesday. Detective Constable Gareth Yates said: 'Jack Watkin is a male who has built a lifestyle on social media, on Instagram, and that lifestyle is one of exuberance. 'So, if anyone was to look at that profile, you would see fancy hotels, luxury cars, designer clothing, and he created a following, and that following allowed him to create a ruse to be the fraudster we now know and convicted fraudster.' He added: 'He often described himself as the Kardashian of Cheshire. What my understanding from that would be is that he is an individual of wealth and has the ability to purchase wealthy items. 'As a result of that he then gets notoriety, from an Instagram perspective, followers, people. People follow him with the desire to be him.' Opening the trial on Monday, Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant put forward the outward facade 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.' Watkin was said to have told victims their money would be used to buy Hermes handbags, which were then to be sold on for a profit. Bag purchases from Hermes are 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. Watkin's victims included friend Hannah Jakes, who he admitted defrauding of £98,500, and Ms Colbert, owner of Dress Cheshire, who was defrauded of £43,800. He also defrauded his father, Jason Watkin, of £24,500. The court heard Mr Watkin was not repaid, but could see from social media his son was 'spending lavishly on his lifestyle'. Watkin also admitted fraud of more than £13,000 on James Irlam, who was told by Watkin he had a personal relationship with the director of Hermes and was able to source handbags. Andor Farkas, a barman at Harrods, was victim of a £14,000 fraud and had believed Watkin, a regular customer, was a millionaire, the court heard. Watkin also pleaded guilty to the £840 fraud of Naheem Akhtar, who the court heard had given Watkin the money for a pair of Lora Piana shoes which he never received. More Trending Judge Berkson told Watkin: 'You have today pleaded guilty to a number of charges of fraud. Those charges are serious and involve a significant amount of loss to victims of your fraud. There's no doubt only one sentence must follow from those guilty pleas.' A further count of fraud and two counts of theft were ordered to lie on file. Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was convicted earlier this year of nine offences related to indecent images. He was remanded in custody before his sentence on September 3. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Met Police boss grilled into apologising to ITV's Selina Scott after vicious mugging MORE: Officer could face sack after asking colleague to 'pull his finger then farting anyway' MORE: Drug kingpins guilty of plot to murder rival and smuggling £5,000,000 of cocaine
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Telegraph
‘Kardashian of Cheshire' behind £200k luxury handbag fraud
A man who described himself as the 'Kardashian of Cheshire' conned £200,000 from his friends and family in a luxury handbag scam. Jack Watkin, 26, convinced those close to him, including his father, to loan him money 'on the promise of either a financial return or luxury items', Chester Crown Court heard. He then went on to spend the money in Harrods and racked up a bill of more than £100,000 at The Dorchester in London. Watkin pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud on the second day of his trial on Tuesday and was warned by Judge Simon Berkson that he faced a prison sentence. Detective Constable Gareth Yates said: 'Jack Watkin is a male who has built a lifestyle on social media, on Instagram, and that lifestyle is one of exuberance. 'So if anyone was to look at that profile, you would see fancy hotels, luxury cars, designer clothing, and he created a following, and that following allowed him to create a ruse to be the fraudster we now know, and convicted fraudster. 'He often described himself as the Kardashian of Cheshire. What my understanding from that would be is that he is an individual of wealth and has the ability to purchase wealthy items. As a result of that he then gets notoriety, from an Instagram perspective, followers, people. People follow him with the desire to be him.' Opening the trial on Monday, Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant put forward the outward facade 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', adding: 'The defendant would make excuses and avoid the complainants, all the while spending large sums of money on maintaining his seemingly lavish lifestyle.' Watkin was said to have told victims their money would be used to buy Hermes handbags, which were then to be sold on for a profit. The jury was told bag purchases from Hermes were only allowed to selected registered customers and, because of their exclusivity, the bags often attracted a value far in excess of their original price when resold. Watkin's victims included Hannah Jakes, a friend whom he admitted defrauding of £98,500, and Christine Colbert, the owner of Dress Cheshire, who was defrauded of £43,800. He defrauded his father, Jason Watkin, of £24,500. Watkin also admitted fraud of more than £13,000 on James Irlam, who was told by Watkin that he had a personal relationship with the director of Hermes and was able to source handbags. Andor Farkas, a barman at Harrods, was victim of a £14,000 fraud and had believed that Watkin, a regular customer, was a millionaire, the court heard. Watkin also pleaded guilty to the £840 fraud of Naheem Akhtar, who the court heard had given Watkin the money for a pair of Lora Piana shoes, which he never received. Judge Berkson told Watkin: 'You have today pleaded guilty to a number of charges of fraud. Those charges are serious and involve a significant amount of loss to victims of your fraud. There's no doubt only one sentence must follow from those guilty pleas.' A further count of fraud and two counts of theft were ordered to lie on file. Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was convicted earlier this year of nine offences related to indecent images. He was remanded in custody before his sentence on September 3.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Luxury handbag conman admits swindling thousands
A "charismatic and persuasive" conman who persuaded people to invest thousands of pounds to buy and sell luxury handbags has pleaded guilty to fraud. Jack Watkin, 26, gained his victims' trust by putting forward an "outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle" but left them out of pocket, Chester Crown Court heard. A trial had begun on Monday but Watkin, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, earlier pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud and will be sentenced on 3 September. The conman, who was in Channel 4 documentary Rich Kids Of Instagram in 2016, spent the money he swindled in London's Harrods store and stays in the capital's five-star Dorchester hotel, according to police. Opening the trial, Matthew Kerruish-Jones, prosecuting, said: "The defendant put forward the outward facade 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." Watkin had defrauded business and individuals to the value of over £200,000, Cheshire Police said. The jury was told that the sought-after Hermes handbags cannot be purchased over the counter and any prospective customers have to be invited to buy one, making it a lucrative investment as the resale value can be much higher than the original price. Watkin told his victims he had the contacts that could give them access to the handbags and that they could split the profits made on resale. They then handed over their money in good faith but when his victims questioned the lack of any bag or money he would make excuses. He duped one woman into handing over thousands thinking she was investing in the the luxury handbag when she was in fact paying his bills at the Dorchester. She, like the others, never received the handbags or their share in the profits of their resale. Watkin, who was remanded in custody, was also convicted earlier this year of nine offences related to indecent images. Speaking after the hearing, Det Cons Gareth Yates said: "Jack Watkin is a male who has built a lifestyle on social media, on Instagram, and that lifestyle is one of exuberance. "So if anyone was to look at that profile, you would see fancy hotels, luxury cars, designer clothing, and he created a following, and that following allowed him to create a ruse to be the fraudster we now know, and convicted fraudster." Senior crown prosecutor Laura Atherton said: "Some of these frauds span several years. "Clearly, to be able to convince an individual for that length of time that you are going to repay money and you are going to provide goods, you have to be an incredibly charismatic and persuasive person to keep that up. "It's just got to the stage where things had ran on for so long that complainants have then come forward when they come to the realisation, as it's the crown's case, that their goods or their money were never going to materialise." Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. 'Fake millionaire ran Hermes bag con', jurors told Cheshire Police
Daily Mirror
24-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Man 'scammed friends and family out of £420,000 in fake designer handbag scheme'
Jack Watkin, 26, appeared in court on Monday accused of conning friends and family out of £420,000 in a meticulously planned fashion scheme involving Hermès handbags A man allegedly posed as a jet-setting millionaire, rubbing shoulders with the rich and stylish while flashing luxury handbags and watches on social media in order to convince friends and family he was a successful entrepreneur. Jack Watkin, 26, is on trial accused of swindling friends, family and associates out of over £420,000 in a bogus high-end fashion scheme. He allegedly spun a web of lies, convincing his friends and family to invest in what he described as a lucrative business buying and selling exclusive Hermès handbags. But Chester Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the promised designer bags never existed. Instead, prosecutors claim, Watkin used the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle of luxury hotels, lavish holidays and designer goods, all while dodging creditors and spinning new tales to cover his tracks. Now, the man once seen as a glamorous figure in Cheshire's elite social circles is on trial, accused of seven counts of fraud and two of theft involving six victims between December 2019 and August 2024. He denies all charges. With his ponytail, designer clothes, and confident online persona, Watkin cultivated the image of a successful young entrepreneur, the court heard. Prosecutor Matthew Kerruish-Jones said the scam centred around the exclusive French luxury brand Hermès, known for its highly sought-after Birkin and Kelly handbags - items so rare that even the wealthy often struggle to buy them directly. The bags can retail for up to £10,000 if bought directly, but second-hand goods can often double in price due to their exclusivity. The court heard how Watkin convinced friends and business contacts that he had a personal relationship with a senior figure at Hermès, allowing him rare access to the luxury bags, which he claimed he could resell for profit. 'The defendant put forward the outward façade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle,' Mr Kerruish-Jones told the jury. 'This 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.' Among the alleged victims was Hannah Jakes, a long-time friend of Watkin's, who lost more than £233,000. The court heard that despite their personal relationship, she believed she was misled for months and left out of pocket when the promised returns failed to arrive. Another alleged victim, boutique owner Christine Colbert, who runs the designer store Dress Cheshire in Prestbury, invested £78,000. She was also accusing Watkin of stealing two high-value handbags from her shop: a blue Hermès bag worth £21,000 and a Goyard alligator handbag worth £8,000. Watkin's own father, 55-year-old Jason Watkin, a property developer, was allegedly duped out of £30,000. The court was told their relationship soured when Jason refused to lend his son £100,000, expressing concern about his lavish spending and lack of employment. 'Mr Watkin was concerned by the amount of money the defendant appeared to be spending on his social life, despite having no formal employment,' the prosecutor said. Watkin's alleged scheme extended beyond family. James Irlam, a businessman introduced to Watkin through a family connection, initially bought a Hermès Birkin bag for his wife's birthday. Impressed by what he believed was a legitimate business, Mr Irlam later handed over around £65,500 for three more handbags. But, like the others, he claimed to never receive bags or any financial return. He eventually launched legal action against Watkin. The court also heard from Andor Farkas, a barman who worked at Harrods in London, who said he lost around £14,000. Watkin reportedly told him he was a millionaire and convinced him to allow purchases on his personal credit card, promising repayment and profit. But no money was ever returned. The final alleged victim, Naheem Akhtar, met Watkin via social media. Impressed by his flashy online lifestyle and supposed links to fashion, Mr Akhtar transferred £840 for a pair of luxury Loro Piana 'summer walk' shoes - shoes he never received. When he chased Watkin, he was met with what the court described as 'endless excuses', including claims that he was in hospital. Ms Colbert later took to Instagram to publicly warn others, claiming she had been defrauded. The post caught the attention of Ms Jakes, who reached out - and the pair said they had both been duped. Together, they hatched a plan. Ms Jakes arranged to meet Watkin in Alderley Edge. As soon as he arrived, she contacted Ms Colbert, who alerted Cheshire Police. Officers swooped in and arrested him on the spot. When questioned by police, Watkin claimed his lavish lifestyle was funded by his mother and an unnamed partner. He insisted he planned to repay Ms Colbert and claimed Ms Jakes was 'flexible' about the money he owed her. But investigators said they uncovered a very different picture. They said Watkin had no employment, had been declared bankrupt a year earlier, and was pawning luxury goods rather than reselling them as promised. A forensic accountant was brought in to track the flow of funds and confirmed substantial payments from each of the six alleged victims. 'There is no dispute as to the accuracy of the figures,' Mr Kerruish-Jones said. 'Rather, the defendant will assert he provided a number of the ordered items, made repayments, or that the money received was simply unrelated.' But he told jurors: 'You may ask yourself - if this was a legitimate venture, why did the defendant repeatedly borrow money and fail to deliver? Does his explanation hold water when you compare it to the life he was living? We say simply that this was a dishonest enterprise.' The trial, expected to last two weeks, continues.
