THE Tinder Swindler is Netflix’s latest documentary which tells the story of Simon Leviev, a conman who used Tinder to prey on his victims.
Posing as Simon, 31, fake son of real billionaire Lev Leviev, he tricked women across Europe between 2017 and 2019.
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Why did Simon Leviev go to prison?
Leviev, who legally changed his name from Shimon Hayut to solidify his ruse as the son of the “King of Diamonds”, seduced women on Tinder and conned them out of money.
He told them his enemies had frozen him out of his bank accounts or attacked his bodyguard, Piotr, asking the women to use their savings to help him or take out loans to support him.
It’s estimated that he conned them out of around £7.4million in total.
He became a wanted man in multiple European countries and was captured for unrelated crimes.
He had been on the run since 2011 when he fled Israel to avoid fraud charges from his early 20s.
His use of a fake passport in Greece saw him extradited to Israel in 2019 where he faced charges for fraud, theft and forgery.
The Tinder scheme was not included in his charges, or any other alleged crimes outside of Israel.
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How long was Simon Leviev in prison for?
When he fled Israel he moved to Finland, where he began the Tinder scheme featured in the documentary.
Leviev served two years in a Finnish prison previously and was released in 2017.
He briefly returned to Israel but escaped before he could be captured.
When he was finally arrested in 2019, it was for the forgery, theft and fraud charges, which he denied.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison but only served five months in the end, after being released for good behaviour.
Has Simon Leviev been arrested since?
Leviev lives in Israel as a free man and is rumoured to be dating an Israeli model, Kate Konlin.
While his Instagram account is private, he has around 100,000 followers and appears to be free from financial issues.
Leviev posts photos of helicopters, expensive dinners and other snaps boasting a lavish lifestyle.
His victims who spoke out in the documentary have said they are still paying off their debts.
One woman Ayleen Charlotte said how she sold some of his designer clothes to attempt to claw back some money.
He has since set himself up as a real estate mogul and offers classes in business education.
Tinder has said that Simon Leviev is not on their app under any known alias.
