What happened with ‘serial swindler’ and father of Made in Chelsea star Victoria’s baby

Series 23 of Made in Chelsea has just kicked off, and one of the storylines that was brushed over in the show was that Victoria Baker-Harber is raising her child alone because her previous partner is currently in prison. She mentions that she has briefly visited her incarcerated ex-partner, but he has never met their baby, Gaia-Grace.

The father of her baby is art dealer Inigo Philbrick, and he faces up to 20 years in prison for a multi-million pound art scam. He’s been described as a “youthful”, “handsome” and a “Gatsby-like figure”.  Here’s the latest on the case.

via Instagram

Inigo Philbrick has plead guilty to a £16million art scam and is awaiting sentencing

34-year-old art dealer Inigo Philbrick has pleaded guilty to a huge art fraud, in which he is said to have sold multiple pieces to people at hugely inflamed prices. He is said to have been caught conning art buyers out of more than $86million and whilst in court, told a judge in New York he “did it for the money”. The scam, which is said to have earned him $20million (£16million), included selling one artwork for £4.1million, only for one person to claim they owned it and two others saying they had a 50 per cent share.

In November 2019 Philbrick failed to appear for court hearings in Miami and London. He was tracked down and arrested back in 2020, and has been held in jail ever since. He had been hiding from authorities but was found on an island in the South Pacific, with even Victoria saying she had no idea where he had been. He was arrested by US law enforcement agents on the Pacific island of Vanuatu, a “tax haven” with a reputation of housing “shady people”.

US Attorney Damian Williams said: “Inigo Philbrick was a serial swindler who took advantage of the lack of transparency in the art market to defraud art collectors, investors and lenders of more than $86million to finance his art business and his lifestyle.”

Philbrick, who pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud last November, was due to be sentenced in New York this week. Right now, he faces up to 20 years in prison, but is currently awaiting sentence. His hearing has been delayed, and is currently scheduled for early May. He has also agreed to turn over more than $86million that is said to be traceable to the fraud, and to forfeit paintings. 17 letters were submitted in an attempt to give him a lesser sentence, from close friends and family supporting his good character. One letter was provided by Made in Chelsea star Victoria, about her previous partner.

via Instagram @victoriabh

He was the partner of Made in Chelsea star Victoria Baker-Harber and they have one child together

It was a huge surprise when Victoria Baker-Harber announced she had a baby – the public weren’t even aware she was pregnant. She started dating Inigo Philbrick in 2017 and gave birth to their baby girl, Gaia-Grace, in 2020. Philbric hasn’t ever met his child, as he is in the US in prison. When Victoria had Gaia-Grace, she and Philbrick were engaged.

On recent episodes of Made in Chelsea, Victoria says she has visited Philbrick but is currently single and dating again.

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