Some of the men used the money for holidays, designer clothes and hotel stays
21:38, 06 Jul 2025Updated 21:39, 06 Jul 2025
Left to right: Medi Abalimba, Jack Watkin and Cieran McNamara
(Image: UGC )
These fraudsters all led lives of luxury, including extravagant holidays, expensive hotel stays and designer clothes – however it was all a lie. The men deceived their victims in various ways, but it was all to fund a life which they themselves could not afford.
One scammer claimed to be the “British Kardashian” and persuaded people to part with their money by putting on a front of a glamorous lifestyle. In reality, he was unemployed and funding his lifestyle by loans from banks, pawnbrokers or from the people he had swindled.
Another man targeted women convincing them that he was a successful businessman with a high value property portfolio across the UK. However, he was actually living out of a suitcase.
One man even stooped to targeting his own friends by telling them he was a millionaire, but this too was a lie. A fourth criminal even had a Netflix documentary made about him and his scams.
Take a look below at some of the cases which involved fraudsters who pretended they were rich. It is not an exhaustive list, however we have taken a look at recent and prominent cases.
Jack Watkin
Jack Watkin(Image: Cheshire Police/PA)
A jobless fraudster who claimed to be the “British Kardashian” pleaded guilty to swindling people out of thousands of pounds in a handbag sales hoax. At Chester Crown Court lon June 24, Jack Watkin, of Wilmslow Road in Alderley Edge in Cheshire, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by false representation on the first full day of his trial.
The 26-year-old was previously convicted of possessing indecent images of children, which were found on his phone after he was arrested at an earlier trial in April. Watkin offered some of his victims a stake in a business venture to buy and sell “exclusive” handbags.
He offered others the chance to buy and then sell on the exclusive bags at a profit. Hardly any of the money lent was ever paid back and no profits materialised.
Watkin persuaded people to part with their money by putting on a front of a glamorous lifestyle. He stayed at top hotels – spending £139,000 at London’s Dorchester Hotel between March 2019 and December 2022 – went on expensive holidays and made videos for social media about being a multi-millionaire.
In reality, he was unemployed and funding his lifestyle by loans from banks, pawnbrokers or from the people he had swindled. He was caught when the police arrived at a spot where he had arranged to meet one of his victims.
Jack Watkin(Image: Cheshire Police)
The woman had been in touch with another woman he had defrauded and the two contacted the police. The fraud centred on bags made by the company Hermès. This brand only allows their bags to be bought by select, registered customers and because of their exclusivity, they can generally be resold at a large profit.
Watkin claimed to be one of the select, registered Hermès customers. He never paid back the loans given to him by his victims, any profits from sales or provided the bags that his victims had given him the money to buy. When they tried to get their money back, he either avoided them or made excuses.
The victims included his dad and an old friend. He was arrested after one of his victims, who owned an exclusive handbag shop in Cheshire went onto social media, highlighting what she suspected were his fraudulent activities. Watkins’ old friend saw the post and the two women got in contact.
The old friend arranged to meet Watkin in Alderley Edge on March 18 last year. The owner of the shop contacted Cheshire Police and gave them the time and location of the meeting. He was arrested by officers at the scene and taken for questioning.
He claimed his lavish lifestyle was funded by his mum and a partner he refused to name. He said he had always intended to pay his victims back but just needed more time.
He was arrested again on October 18 last year following further investigations. It had come to light that Watkin had been securing loans from pawnbrokers and that he had been declared bankrupt in February 2023.
He is set to be sentenced on September 3 at Chester Crown Court.
Damien Tideswell
Damien Tideswell, of Hale Drive in Speke(Image: Cheshire Police )
Damien Tideswell pretended to be a millionaire to his friends, but it was all a lie to con them. Tideswell, of Hale Drive in Speke, told a couple he had £3.5m in overseas accounts, but his bank accounts had been frozen by HMRC.
He asked the couple if he could loan money in order to repay a fine and assured them he would repay all the money as soon as his accounts were unfrozen. Tideswell provided the victims with forged documentation, fabricated imagery, and even went to the extent of orchestrating fraudulent phone calls to deceive them.
However, he never repaid any of the money and was continuing to ask for more cash so the couple reported the matter to police. Tideswell was arrested following a warrant at his home in December 2021, and later charged with two counts of fraud.
During the investigation officers analysed Tideswell’s bank accounts and discovered the majority of the money he had received had been spent on gambling, with £181,890 paid out to online betting companies. He also spent more than £22,000 on car hire, £19,000 on hotels in the UK, along with almost £10,000 on bars and restaurants, nearly £4,000 on holidays abroad and £4,000 on designer clothing.
He defrauded the couple out of more than £360,000. Tideswell appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday, July 26 last year where he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison after he had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. He was also convicted of breach of court bail after failing to attend his original sentencing date in an attempt to evade justice.
Cieran McNamara
Cieran McNamara conned four women to fund his lavish lifestyle (Image: Cheshire Police )
Cieran McNamara, who also uses the names Ciaran Griffin, Christian McNamara and Myles McNamara, was leading a lavish lifestyle, travelling across the UK in first class on trains, planes and in five-star hotels. However, to lead this lifestyle he was swindling several women.
The then 37-year-old met his victims through a variety of different methods. On some occasions he met them online, while on others he would visit exclusive hotels and clubs, with the overall aim of praying on wealthy individuals to manipulate for his own gain.
After carefully selecting his victims, he would start relationships with the women, convincing them that he was a successful businessman with a high value property portfolio across the UK.
To help convince the women of his wealth, he showed them images of him at mansions in London and Cheshire to substantiate his account, as well as pictures of him travelling first class across the world. He would also flood the women with gifts, weekends away and take them out for expensive meals.
Enjoying the high life – romance fraudster, Cieran McNamara. (Image: No credit)
However, what the victims didn’t know is that he was using money he had taken from other women to fund his lifestyle. After convincing his victims that they were in a loving relationship, he would create a fake crisis, claiming that he was having issues with his banking and needed to borrow money, which he said he would repay as soon as possible.
If any of the women questioned his motives, he would turn it on them and blame them for doubting him. In total, between September 1 2022 and September 25 2023, McNamara managed to manipulate his four victims in Cheshire, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire to hand over £302,054.26.
His downfall came after his victim in Cheshire realised what he was doing and reported her concerns to police. An investigation was launched by detectives from the Cheshire Constabulary Economic Crime Unit which resulted in McNamara’s arrest in Colchester on Thursday, September 28 last year.
Cieran McNamara conned four women to fund his lavish lifestyle (Image: Cheshire Police )
He was subsequently charged with four counts of fraud by false representation. Following his arrested officers have since raided a lock-up which was being rented by McNamara where they recovered approximately £19,500 worth of brand new goods – including a £1,900 Burberry Coat, a £400 Burberry Scarf, Dubarry boots, Gucci trainers and a Ping golf set.
Police said the fraudster convinced his victims that he was a millionaire with properties across the country, but in reality, he was unemployed and living out of suitcase. He was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, February 6 last year where he was jailed for seven years.
Medi Abalimba
Former professional footballer Medi Abalimba enjoying a helicopter ride
A former footballer, who once trialled for Liverpool FC, was jailed following an international manhunt. Medi Abalimba became known as ‘The Football Fraudster’ after targeting high-profile victims, including the ex-wife of Thierry Henry, while posing as a Premier League player.
The 35-year-old tricked women out of thousands so he could fund a champagne lifestyle of luxury hotels, helicopter trips and travelling the globe. He became a worldwide name last year after a Netflix documentary came out in which the Arsenal striker’s former wife Claire Merry and ITV reality show star Georgia Steel revealed how they had been duped.
Abalimba, previously from Derby, was convicted of a string of fraud offences and was jailed for four years and two months following his most recent conviction in early 2023. However, he breached the conditions of his licence by fleeing the UK sparking an international manhunt.
Derbyshire Constabulary worked alongside law enforcement organisations across the globe, including US Homeland Security, in an attempt to track down the fraudster. PC Sarah Baker, who works in the force’s International Liaison Office, discovered he had changed his name to Michi Jordan and was travelling on a new passport.
Medi Abalimba, 35, became known as ‘The Football Fraudster’ after targeting high-profile victims while posing as a Premier League player(Image: Derbyshire Police / SWNS)
Abalimba was arrested in the USA and extradited back to Britain on January 28. He was detained by UK police the following day and recalled to prison where he will now remain until October 2026.
Abalimba moved to the UK from his birth country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, when he was five years old. A promising footballer, he joined Derby County and also played for Crystal Palace, Fulham, Oldham Athletic and Southend United. He had trials at Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
When his career began to decline in 2012, he took part-time work at a taxi firm but began pretending to be Chelsea player Gael Kakuta. Abalimba was first convicted for fraud related offences in 2013, which saw him serve six months in prison for his crimes.
He had started a relationship with Claire Merry, the ex-wife of Thierry Henry, when he was arrested again in 2019. He had also previously been in a relationship with Love Island star Georgia Steel after meeting her in a Mayfair nightclub.
Abalimba stole from both women, defrauding Steel of £13,000 and Merry out of more than £50,000. He was then jailed again in 2021 for 15 counts of fraud after he plundered the bank accounts of model Chloe Henry, claiming to be a US Navy Seal in a £160,000 scam.At the time the Netflix documentary ‘The Footballer Fraudster’ first aired in July last year, his whereabouts had remained unknown.