Netflix just released a new documentary called “The Tinder Swindler” earlier this month on February 2nd. And in case you couldn’t guess by the name, yes, it is about someone who used the popular mobile app dating platform to swindle large amounts of money from unsuspecting female victims.
Watching this should make a fun date for couples and single folk alike on Valentine’s Day. Because of the documentary-format of the film, my recap below is going to be on the more journalistic side, rather than opinionated. But here’s what we know about the swindler.
Who is he?
Our infamous “swindler” goes by Simon Leviev, but his real name is Shimon Hayut. We’ll stick with Simon for now. Originally from Israel, Simon actually spends most of his time jet-setting around the globe, visiting all the lavish European places you can think of. Apparently not with his own money, but more on that later.
Uncoincidentally, there is a real Leviev family, who are actually real billionaires. Lev Leviev, born in 1956, is an Israeli business diamond tycoon with an estimated net worth of $10 billion. If you want to read more about this particular guy, Forbes covers it pretty well.
Simon created various Tinder profiles claiming to be this guy’s son. In fact, his Tinder bio quite literally stated, “A billionaire’s son.” It’s safe to assume that this guy was probably more focused on money than he was on finding love.
What exactly happened?
Netflix starts the documentary with some personal interviews. There are three female victims featured in the film, and they’re all Norwegian–Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Koeleman. It’s unclear whether or not Simon was targeting Norwegian women specifically, but it is clear throughout the documentary that he does have a thing for blondes.
Between 2018 and 2019, Simon matched with these women on Tinder and set up first dates. In the following weeks, Simon and each woman begin talking more and going on more frequent, lavish dates. Pretty normal up to this point, right? It seems the women are pretty taken by his smooth-talking and lavish lifestyle (he took Cecilie on a private jet on their first date).
After establishing some trust and co-dependency in the “relationship”, Simon, who leaves frequently on “business trips”, would then claim that “bad men” were after him. He has the same footage of one of his bodyguards bloodied up in an ambulance he’d send to the different women to help him sell his story.
Because he’s on the run to evade the bad guys, Simon would beg his girlfriends for money so he could survive. They would open multiple credit card accounts in their name and send him the cards to use. Cecilie’s loans totaled $250,000, Pernilla at $140,000, and Ayleen at $34,000. All in all, he is estimated to have stolen a cumulative $10 million.
Obviously, Simon was never in danger. Instead, he was using the credit cards to max out purchases at expensive dinners, fancy hotels, private jets, yacht parties and more. And with other women by his side.
Did he get caught?
When a couple of women from Finland came forward, an article was published in the Norwegian newspaper, VG. Ayleen Charlotte happened to read this article while she was dating Simon at the exact same time. But instead of blowing things up, she decided to work with the police to beat Simon at his own game.
She feigned continuing the relationship and told him she believed bad, mysterious men were still out to get him. Simon begged Charlotte to sell her car and her house to get him the money he needed. Instead, she suggested that she sell his designer luxury items for quick cash. She did, but she never gave him the money.
Enraged, Simon left her threatening voicemails and rants. Charlotte was also able to figure out one day that Simon had left Prague for Greece. She alerted authorities and Simon was arrested in Athens and extradited back to Israel where he received a 15-month prison sentence for fraud.
Unfortunately, Simon was released from prison after only serving 5 months.
What about now?
After his 5 month service, the documentary states that Simon went back to living his lavish lifestyle. It’s unclear how. He is used to switching names and identities, but with authorities on his back, I’m not sure how he gets away with it. Or maybe he has really generous friends now?
I’m sure there are some women out there who want the personal connection with him just for notoriety, but I sincerely hope no one else is falling for his tricks. When Simon learned of the Netflix documentary being made, he threatened the filmmakers with a voicemail saying, “I will proceed with the lawsuit against you for defamation and lies and, you know, that everything is based, basically, on a lie. And that’s it, this is how it’s gonna be.”
Since the documentary’s release earlier this month, Simon has completely deleted his Instagram profile. There is also a GoFundMe to raise money for the three victims to help get them out of debt.
