Made in Chelsea star Victoria Baker-Harber said that she is standing by her fiancé, a convicted art dealing fraudster who was jailed for seven years in the US for conning several former clients out of more than £80million in a ‘Ponzi-like scheme’.
Inigo Philbrick, an American citizen dubbed the ‘Mini Madoff of the art world’ who previously lived in London, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and told a judge he did it all ‘for the money’.
The 34-year-old ran a ‘Ponzi-like scheme’ in which he used money from some customers to buy artworks, pay off others and bankroll a lavish lifestyle which saw him pose as an expert on art business conferences, federal prosecutors said.
Ms Baker-Harber, 33, said that rumours she and ‘serial swindler’ Philbrick are no longer a couple are a ‘load of bulls***’.
She told the Sun: ‘I’ve stood by him and will continue to do so.’
On Monday, she wept in the US courtroom when he spoke about the ‘anguish’ of being unable to support their daughter Gaia-Grace, who has born in 2020.
The pair began dating in 2017, with their daughter born two years later. Philbrick has never met Gaia-Grace, but they have spoken on the telephone, after he was arrested in 2019.
Ms Baker-Harber said that she ‘dreads’ the day she has to explain things about Philbrick to her daughter, and does not want to take Gaia to the ‘barbaric’ Brooklyn prison where her father is now being held.
Inigo Philbrick pictured with partner Victoria Baker-Harber, of Made in…
