Rest Easy And Swipe Right—The ‘Tinder Swindler’ Has Been Banned From Tinder
Simon Leviev (a.k.a the Tinder Swindler) duped women around the world out of an estimated $10 million.
A new Netflix documentary is now exploring how he did it, how it got this far, and his eventual downfall at the hands of his victims.
His con came to an end in 2019—and he is now back in Israel.
A spokesperson said Tinder “can confirm Simon Leviev is not active on Tinder under any of his known aliases.”
Netflix is completely owning the true crime game lately, and the streaming service has a new documentary you definitely don’t want to miss. It’s called The Tinder Swindler and it tells the story of a man who claimed to be Simon Leviev, a son of a diamond billionaire.
“Simon” ran through a series of cons to get millions of dollars from women he met on Tinder, jumping to the next victim before a woman realizes what’s actually happened. The story is fascinating and terrifying at once—and it’s already trending on Netflix despite only being released on Wednesday.
But who is the man behind The Tinder Swindler and where is he now? Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Tinder Swindler’s real name?
While he usually went by the name Simon Leviev, the Tinder Swindler's real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut. Shimon has a rap sheet and had to flee to Israel when he was in his 20s.
How did the Tinder Swindler con women?
Several women shared in the documentary that Simon claimed to be the son of diamond billionaire Lev Leviev, who is a real person. (Leviev reportedly has nine kids, BTW.)
Simon would find women on Tinder and blow them away with things like rides on private jets and stays at luxury hotels. But eventually, he would fake some kind of crisis and get them to pony up thousands upon thousands of dollars to help him out—ranging from $20,000 to more than $140,000. By the time a woman realizes she’s been the victim of an elaborate con, he’s moved on to the next woman.
Simon swindled women around the world.
Simon moved through women from all over the world—including London, Rome, Barcelona, Mykonos, and Tel Aviv.
He fled Israel to avoid charges.
Simon’s criminal behavior goes back more than a decade. He was charged in Israel with theft, forgery, and fraud in 2011 for cashing stolen checks, according to The Times of Israel. But, the paper says, he fled the country before he was sentenced.
He was caught and convicted in Finland for defrauding women and was sent back to Israel in 2017, but he fled the country again, the paper says.
Did Simon go to jail?
Simon was arrested in Athens, Greece—thanks to intel provided by his victims Cecilie Fjellh?y, Pernilla Sj?holm, and Ayleen Charlotte.
The Times of Israel says that he was imprisoned in Israel after pleading guilty to fraud charges, but was released after serving five months of a 15-month sentence “reportedly as part of a program aimed at reducing the prison population amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak among inmates.”
So, where is Simon Leviev now?
After he got out of jail, Simon started posting photos of himself doing rich people things on Instagram—like hanging out in private jets, smoking a cigar on a yacht, and hanging out in an expensive-looking car.
FWIW: He hasn’t posted since October, although it's unclear if that's related to the documentary or something else.
Simon actually did an interview with Israel’s News 13 where he said he was “wronged for things I never did. I always loved the good life, I will not lie.” When he was asked if he had any connection with the Leviev family, Simon said, “I did not know there was a copyright to this family name.”
Is Simon still on Tinder?
Nope: He's officially been banned from the app.
"We banned Simon Leviev and any of his known aliases as soon as the story of his actions became public in 2019," a Tinder spokesperson told E! News. "In the lead up to the release of the documentary, we conducted additional internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is not active on Tinder under any of his known aliases." (So you can resume swiping as usual!)
Does Simon have a girlfriend?
So, he's not on Tinder anymore. But based on social media, he seems to have settled down with an Israeli model, per Metro UK. Her identity is not known, and no one knows how long they've been together.
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