Man pleads guilty to luxury handbag fraud

A man who persuaded people to invest thousands of pounds which he claimed was to buy and sell luxury handbags has pleaded guilty to fraud.

Jack Watkin, 26, went on trial on Chester Crown Court on Monday, when a jury heard he gained his victims’ trust by putting forward an “outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle” but left them out of pocket.

On Tuesday, the second day of his trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud.

The indictment was amended to change the values of the frauds.

The defendant put forward the outward facade of a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle

The prosecution invited the court to lie on file a further count of fraud and two counts of theft.

Judge Simon Berkson told the jury: “In short, that ends this case.”

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.”

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.