The Tinder Swindler is the brand new true-crime documentary on Netflix about the crimes committed by Israeli conman, Shimon Hayut. Under the name Simon Leviev (which he had legally changed), Hayut pretended to be the CEO of luxury diamond company LLD Diamonds and the son of its founder, Lev Leviev. Under the guise of being the LLD Diamonds heir, Hayut conned numerous women who he met on Tinder out of up to $10 million in total by pretending his life was at risk from his enemies in the diamond trade.
In The Tinder Swindler, three of his victims Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm, and Ayleen Charlotte tell their shocking true story and how they came to be under Leviev's spell. In reality, Hayut had no connection to LLD Diamonds or to its founder, Liev Leviev and the company has spoken out against his lies. Newsweek has everything you need to know.
LLD Diamonds also shared his crimes had caused "ongoing confusion" about the company. The statement in full reads: "LLD Diamonds has been a well-regarded leader in the diamond industry for three decades. Our company has no connection whatsoever with Shimon Hayut. He is a fraud who has tried to exploit our good name to con victims out of millions of dollars. "Our sympathies go out to his victims. His fraud has also caused ongoing confusion about our company. Nothing he has said, about LLD or anything else, should be believed.
"As soon as we learned of the fraud, we filed a complaint with the Israeli police, and we hope that Mr. Hayut faces the justice he deserves." Simon Hayut was arrested in Athens, Greece in 2019 by Interpol for traveling on a false passport and was extradited to Israel to face numerous fraud charges he had been evading since his early 20's. In December 2019, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison but was released five months later as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, Simon Hayut has been living his life as a free man, under the name Simon Leviev.
Speaking to Newsweek, The Tinder Swindler director Felicity Morris gave an update on his whereabouts. She said: "He served the time for those [crimes] until he was released early because of COVID. Which was fortunate for him. And I think that is a huge blow for his victims to see the way he's living his life today. "Up until recently, his Instagram was open, it wasn't set to private and Simon's driving around in Ferraris. He's taking pictures of himself in private jets, he's dating glamorous women. And so, therefore, you think, 'Well, that doesn't look like justice to me.'"
Despite being a free man, Morris believes the release of the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler may work towards stopping Hayut from hiding behind the guise of Simon Leviev, heir to LLD Diamonds. She told Newsweek: "What we've hoped with this film—and Cecilie really started the relay race or held the baton first—is that it will act as justice for them in some way. Because obviously, Netflix is such a huge global platform. "Lots of people watch it, and lots of people will see Simon for who he really is. He can't hide behind the guise that has been Simon Leviev, the heir of the Israeli diamond fortune anymore."
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