THE new Netflix documentary Tinder Swindler tells the story of Simon Leviev, a man who conned millions out of countless women he met online.
Israeli Shimon Hayut who claimed he was a billionaire heir, even had his own bodyguard, Peter.
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Who is Simon Leviev’s bodyguard Peter?
The man would pose up as the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev to women he met on Tinder.
As soon as he’d struck up a relationship, he would splash thousands on romantic gestures, luxurious trips and pricey hotels, acquired from his previous victim.
Leviev would promise to pay them back but it was always with fake designer watches, dodgy cheques, and incomplete bank transfers.
After a few months, he would claim he was in trouble due to enemies he’d made in the business.
He would send footage of his security guard, Piotr, beaten up in the back of an ambulance, claiming there had been an assassination attempt.
The women would then agree to let him use their credit card temporarily, convinced by promises he would pay them back.
Sometimes he would even pay back some of the money as a sign of good faith.
In most cases though, he’d sent them fake bank transfer receipts blaming the bank for failing to complete the transaction.
What did Simon Leviev do?
Leviev deceived a number of women across Europe.
The 31-year-old would meet them via dating app tinder where he would pose as a billionaire in the diamonds business.
He would later con them out of thousands of pounds- an estimated £7.4million in total.
He would tell them his enemies had frozen his bank accounts and asked them to send him their savings or to take out credit cards and loans.
The new Netflix documentary tells the story of three of his victims – Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm, and Ayleen Charlotte.
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Was Simon Leviev arrested?
Leviev was finally caught out, though for unrelated crimes, and became a wanted man in Israel, Sweden, England, Germany, Denmark, and Norway.
The use of a fake passport in July 2019 saw him extradited to Israel and, in December that year, he was convicted of theft, fraud, and forgery.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison but was freed after just five due to good behaviour.
He has not been charged for any alleged crimes outside of his home country, which includes his Tinder scheme.
The 31-year-old lives in Israel after his release.
He regularly shares snaps of his luxurious lifestyle with his 124,000 Instagram followers.
His account is full of selfies next to flashy cars, helicopters, and private jets, as well as cigars, pricey dinners, and designer clobber.
It is believed he is now dating an Israeli model.
