Tinder Swindler Since the last time we left the Tinder
Swindler, he was under arrest by Greek police. The 28-year-old Israeli, whose birth name is
Shimon Hayut, was traveling with a fake Israeli passport and was arrested at the Athens Airport.
Airport employees were notified of an international warrant for his arrest on fraud,
theft, and forgery charges. He was later deported to Israel.
He presented himself as the son of the multimillion-dollar Russian-Israeli
diamond tycoon, Lev Leviev. He used this false identity to defraud multiple
women he met on Tinder out of millions of dollars. When word of his arrest got out,
Leviev's picture was plastered all over the Internet.
The Swindler left a trail of European victims in his path, stealing upwards of $10 Million.
He found his victims on Tinder, and wooed them with expensive dinners, private jets,
and luxury hotels. They thought they were dating a successful businessman. In reality,
he was paying for his fancy dates with another woman's money. Using a strange blend of romance
scam meets Ponzi scheme, nobody can knock the Swindler's white-collar creativity.
Netflix cashed in on the story with its documentary,
"The Tinder Swindler," featuring interviews from three women Leviev manipulated. Cecilie Fjellhøy,
Ayleen Charlotte, and Pernilla Sjoholm had their life savings stolen from underneath them.
The doc was immediately successful, hitting the top 10 list in 92 countries
and scoring 45.8 million hours of global viewing time in one week.
An interesting story for sure, but Netflix fame comes at a price. Leviev is now an international
celebrity reveling in his newfound fame and recognition. It's probably not the outcome
these women hoped for when they offered to be part of the Netflix documentary.
"The Tinder Swindler" was so successful that Netflix is now in early talks of
adapting the documentary into a full-length feature film.
In 2011, an Israeli arrest warrant went out for Leviev on theft, forgery, and fraud charges. He
never had his day in court because he had already fled to Europe. In 2017, a new criminal case was
opened against him, and of course, he never showed up. In 2019, after international law enforcement
finally found and arrested him in Greece, Leviev received a 15-month prison sentence. However, he
only served five months in prison and was released on good behavior. He apparently now lives in Tel
Aviv as a free man. According to social media, he maintains his lavish lifestyle and has a new
model girlfriend, Kate Konlin. Tinder confirmed that he's been permanently banned from the site.
More Hustles But there's a
dark side to Netflix fame. Instead of keeping his head down, the Swindler had other ideas.
He has been cashing in on his infamy with various side hustles. Leviev signed up for Cameo,
a website where people can pay celebrities to send personalized videos and messages to loved ones.
In his first three days on the platform, Leviev made over $30,000. He charges between two and
three hundred dollars per video, more than most other celebs on the platform, yet his inbox still
floods with requests. He charges a whopping $1,400 for any company-sponsored messages.
But it doesn't stop there. He charges $20,000 for club appearances and has a variety of
requirements, including bottle service, a private jet, rooms at a five-star hotel,
and chauffeured SUVs. He also needs two security guards to be near him at all times.
Leviev's newest side hustle is selling NFTs. On Opensea, the largest NFT marketplace,
Leviev promotes an NFT called "Peter Hurt." The NFT depicts his bodyguard, Peter,
sitting in the back of an ambulance with a wound to his head. Simon showed his female victims the
same photo of an injured Peter to prove that his enemies were out to get him. The image first made
its rounds to gain pity money from the women he was swindling and has reached world fame through
the documentary. Now, Leviev is looking to use the documentary's success to his advantage.
Along with the NFT, Leviev also launched his own website,
selling merchandise inspired by the documentary and his crimes. Some shirts say,
"My enemies are after me," which was one of his favorite messages to send to victims.
Another says, "If she really loves you, she'll take out a $20,000 loan for you."
Leviev's new business ventures are definitely not what Pernilla, Ayleen,
and Cecilie intended when they agreed to participate in "The Tinder Swindler." The
documentary was supposed to shine a light on how a remorseless man can defraud people out
of millions through an online dating site. The women in the film thought it would end
his crimes and warn others about romance scams. Instead, Leviev just found new ways
to keep up his expensive lifestyle. And this time, it's totally legal.
Scandal Queen Leviev looks to use his
newfound fame to his advantage. Whether it's good or bad press, he knows he can cash in on it. He
signed a contract with talent manager and former adult film star Gina Rodriguez, from L.A.,
who helps "D-Listers" make a name for themselves. Her former clients include Anthony Weiner's former
texting-scandal pal, Lindsey Lohan's parents, Octomom, and some "Real Housewives" cast members.
Rodriguez's goal is to make sure that her clients are on some kind of list–that's
all that matters. Her mission statement is to turn that 15 minutes of fame into a solid hour.
Rodriguez's resume is an impressive list of pot-stirring D-list celebrity scandals.
She encouraged Octomom to make an adult tape, knowing that it would generate money to help
her take care of her kids. She booked the estranged Michael and Dina Lohan
on a show called "The Test," on which they argued about each other's poor behavior and bad habits.
She also represented the girls involved in the Tiger Woods and Charlie Sheen cheating scandals.
Forward Thinking As of last month,
Rodriguez has a new client. It's none other than the Tinder Swindler,
who wants to partner with Rodriguez and use his infamy to launch a Hollywood career.
After receiving negative backlash from the documentary, he asked people to keep an open
mind and heart until he explained his story's side. Rodriguez is helping him to do just that.
Rodriguez and Leviev are trying to get him a book deal and his own dating show where women
can compete for his love. There's also talk of a podcast about dating in the twenty-first
century. But his dating pool might be a bit limited, considering he's already
banned from Tinder and most other dating apps like Hinge and Bumble.
Since swindling the women depicted in the Netflix documentary,
Simon has started a website to provide consulting advice to paying clients. He stated that he's a
real estate mogul with a net worth in the tens of millions. He claims he made his
fortune through the housing market and Bitcoin. But his website has since been deactivated.
His Side Leviev's Instagram
account has also been deactivated. Still, there is no shortage of fake accounts claiming to be
"Simon Leviev Official." But Leviev wants to tell his own story in a more
curated way. He was asked to be part of the documentary but declined,
believing that the film already had an angle that would paint him in a negative light.
Leviev wants to tell his story without biases. Netflix communicated with Leviev
throughout the making of the film. However, he never showed any remorse for what he did.
His victims believe that Leviev's side of the story will just be him claiming innocence and
completely denying any wrongdoing. He will probably shift the blame onto the women he conned.
One of the women in the documentary, Cecilie, took out $250,000 worth of loans
on his behalf that he never repaid. A Norway native and U.K. resident,
Cecilie is bankrupt in England and still struggles with her creditors in Norway. When
told to take responsibility for her actions, Cecilie points to how her financial wellbeing
has been completely destroyed by Leviev in not one but two European countries.
She reached out to Leviev with compassion, hoping that maybe he would soften and try to help her
out. Instead, he replied, saying her lies made him a superstar. Perhaps the most painful part
of the story is that Leviev has never, and probably will never, admit to what he did.
Still Dripping You might think that
the subject of a scathing Netflix documentary would be cradling his head in his hands and
working hard to pay off debts, but that’s far from the truth for Leviev. After the doc aired,
he was seen walking freely around Israel in a Gucci jacket shopping for sports cars.
He went to a luxury car dealership in an SUV, with a trail of bodyguards behind him. Some
of the Ferrari models he was looking at, such as the 296 GTB, come with a $250,000
price tag. Though he never bought any of the cars, Leviev's Gucci jacket,
car shopping habits, and a barrage of bodyguards show that Leviev is far from strapped for cash.
Netflix Case Remember that
NFT Leviev is selling? The one of his bodyguard, Peter,
in the back of an ambulance? Well, while Leviev profits on the photo and Netflix
rakes in cash from "The Tinder Swindler," Peter isn't getting anything, and he's not so happy.
Peter is now suing Netflix because he doesn't like how they portrayed him in the documentary.
His lawyer says that the film implies Peter helped Leviev scam his victims.
i\In reality, Peter had nothing to do with it, or so he claims.
He was hired as a bodyguard and was merely doing his job. He didn't ask
questions about Simon's business dealings. He just made sure he was protected at all times.
Leviev simply used Peter's story and image as a pawn to get more cash from his victims.
Parafianowicz claims that Netflix never reached out to Peter for comment. Still,
he would have appreciated the opportunity to share his story. His lawyer also says
that Netflix used Peter's image without permission, violating his human rights
and causing severe mental distress. His lawyer claims Peter had nothing to do with Leviev's
cons but is now associated with criminal wrongdoing due to the Netflix documentary.
He's struggling to find work as a bodyguard because of the film.
He feels like Netflix stripped him of his image, anonymity,
and personal data. For those reasons, Peter is suing Netflix for $5.6 million.
GoFundMe Ayleen, Pernilla,
and Cecilie have started a GoFundMe to recuperate the money they lost to Leviev. The fundraiser
is well on its way to its $800,000 goal. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
A recent study showed that in 2021 alone, Americans lost $1 billion in romance scams.
But while these three women struggle to repay their debts, Netflix and Leviev are cashing
in. While Leviev may fade into obscurity, there's the real possibility that he won't,
like other Netflix-famous convicts like the Tiger King. After all, Joe Exotic got a second season.
Leviev is wanted by police in Israel and is under investigation for fraud in Sweden,
England, Germany, Denmark, and Norway. Yet, he walks the streets as a free man in Tel Aviv,
shopping for Ferraris and taking Kate Konlin on expensive dates. Though he might be banned from
swindling Tinder matches, Leviev is still conning the public. Let's face it, we'd all watch this
guy's dating show. He knows it, Gina knows it, and Netflix knows it. Any press is good press,
and nobody epitomizes that more than Simon, "The Tinder Swindler" Leviev.
Click to watch one of these next videos! And let us know in the comment section
who you’d rather throw a water balloon at, the Tinder swindler, or a Kardashian of your choice!