The Tinder Swindler, Netflix’s latest true crime obsession, follows the life of conman Shimon Hayut, who utilized the namesake dating app to defraud his victims.
In an age where online dating is the new norm, British director Felicity Morris’ Tinder Swindler poses one of the terrifying concerns of all: what if the person you meet isn’t who they claim they are? The Tinder Swindler follows Shimon Hayut, who pretended to be Simon Leviev on Tinder to carry out his crimes.
From The Tinder Swindler, who is Simon Leviev?
Shimon Hayut, 31, calls himself the “Prince of Diamonds.”
He purported to be the son of Lev Leviev, a millionaire Russian-Israeli diamond magnate known as the “King of Diamonds.”
Shimon officially changed his surname to Leviev and hired a team of fictitious aides and business partners to make his claim more credible. He also claimed to be a high-ranking executive who frequently traveled for work.
He defrauded several ladies out of thousands of dollars to support his extravagant lifestyle of private flights, expensive hotels, and fast vehicles.
On Tinder, he went under the name Simon Leviev. Shimon would initially spend costly vacations and presents on women he met on the dating service, using money he had stolen from other women. He scammed more than $10 million among his victims.
He would approach these women for additional money to maintain his charade, explaining that he needed to safeguard his identity owing to security concerns.
The Netflix documentary: The Tinder Swindler sees three of Shimon’s victims teaming up to share their stories and catch the conman. Three of Shimon’s victims band together in The Tinder Swindler’s Netflix documentary to share their tales and arrest the conman.
Simon might not have been caught in the first place if it hadn’t been for these females working together. Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm, and Ayleen Charlotte are the three ladies.
Ayleen Charlotte was scammed of $158k
While boarding a trip from Amsterdam to Prague, Leviev’s then-girlfriend, Ayleen Charlotte, discovered the VG piece online, initiated by Cecilie Fjellhoy.
Pernilla Sjöholm helped Norwegian tabloid VG break Simon Leviev’s con.
Where is The Tinder Swindler’s Simon Leviev now?
The Finnish police previously convicted Hayut of scamming three women in 2015 and sentenced him to two years in prison. His return to Israel in 2017 led to a new name and yet another escape.
Hayut (aka Simon Leviev) was detained in Athens, Greece, in December 2019 after traveling on a fake Israeli passport. An Israeli-Interpol investigation led to his arrest. After being deported to Israel, he pleaded guilty to fraud allegations.
Shimon Hayut told ABC’s Nightline via text message in May 2019 that he was innocent and that the allegations against Shimon stemmed from “a loan between pals that went south.”
Bottom Line
Fraud of $200k committed against Cecilie Fjellhoy
As of 2022, Leviev remains unpunished for his crimes against Cecile, Pernilla, Ayleen, and others. They continue to fight for justice.
He drives around in Ferraris. The ladies, on the other hand, are heavily in debt.