Posted on 02/11/2022 5:28:31 PM PST by RandFan
If you've spent the past few days binge-watching The Tinder Swindler, you're not alone.
The Netflix documentary-film centres around titular ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev aka Shimon Heyada Hayut, an Israeli-born conman who used Tinder in order to lure his victims and cheat them out of huge sums of money: amounting to a total of $10 million (£7.4 million) in the years of 2017 alone, according to The Times of Israel. He did so predominantly through operating under a false alias: as the son of diamond trader Lev Leviev.
The true-crime docu-film is currently trending in the top spot on the streaming service's “Most Watched” movies list, as global audiences have tuned in to watch the tale of a large-scale dating app fraud which saw dozens of women cheated out of large sums of money by Hayut. Generally these women were believed they were in a long-distance relationship with “Simon Leviev”, the persona created by Hayut, who pretended he travelled extensively for work.
They were then manipulated by Hayut into taking out loans and credit funds then transferring him the money, or sending him suitcases cash – usually to help him with so-called trouble that he had got into, and with the impression he'd pay them back.
Many of the women he deceived are currently in debt after signing away money to Hayut. There's even a GoFundMe page set up by the three women who appear in the documentary – Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte – to recuperate their losses, a combined total of £600,000.
Yet the man at the centre of an action is now a free man. Hayut has been jailed twice as far as we know. Firstly in 2015, when he served two years after conning three women in 2015. Following the dating app scams chronicled in The Tinder Swindler, he was then arrested in 2019 after being caught using a fake passport in Greece. He was extradited to Israel, where he was born.
Upon his arrest, he told Israel's Channel 12: “I have the right to choose whatever name I want, I never presented myself as the son of anyone, but people use their imaginations. Maybe their hearts were broken during the process…I never took a dime from them; these women enjoyed themselves in my company, they travelled and got to see the world on my dime.”
He was later tried in front of the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court and prosecuted in the same year, and sentenced to a total prison sentence of 15 months – but released after just five in May 2020.
While Hayut, now 31, is “wanted” for his crimes in Sweden, England, Germany, Denmark and Norway, he is currently living as a free man his native country of Israel – according to Instagram Stories footage shared in the Netflix show.
Reassuring, he is officially banned from Tinder – so, in theory, you can swipe away in peace without the fear he's going to cheat you out of all of your money (unless he finds a way to weasel his way on… which, to be honest, isn't so unlikely given his crimes).
He's also signed off Instagram, after deleting his account on the social sharing platform where he long showcased the champagne-fuelled nights, flashy cars, private jets, designer cars and lavish holidays unwittingly funded by his victims. Anyone trying to access his former Instagram page, which was under the handle @simon_leviev_official, is taken to a broken link.
So, we know that what he is not doing is swiping on Tinder or scrolling Instagram. Which, frankly, leaves this serial conman with a disconcerting amount of time on his hands.
Before deleting his Instagram account earlier this month, Hayut told his followers he would shortly be sharing his “side of the story”.
“I will share my side of the story in the next few days when I have sorted out the best and most respectful way to tell it, both to the involved parties and myself. Until then, please keep an open mind and heart,” he wrote in a post that has now been deleted along with his account. Watch this space.
Interesting story anyway. Also interesting that he is free man in Israel.
Not sure what their extradition laws are...
A lot of lonely women will fall for guys like these.
Physics Professor Catfished By Super Model Imposter, Lands In Jail For Drug Smuggling
March 11, 2013 at 1:01 pm
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/03/11/physics-professor-catfished-by-super-model-imposter-lands-in-jail-for-drug-smuggling/
The Netflix stream was watchable. It proved that if you loan out money, which these women were doing, you may not get it back. Moral: don’t borrow money to give/loan to others.
You mean that friend request I got from Princess Leia Organa wasn’t real?!
And you thought you had an easy Leia all lined up...
What’s with all your anti-Semitic postings, dude ?
He sounds like a world class user and narcissist. This kind of person usually tells you early in the relationship what kind of character they have. It’s up to the other person to pay attention and make decisions; “Yes, he’s a jerk, but he’s fun”
“Yes, he lies all the time, but....”
When people tell you who they are, believe them.
Yep. That’s the one good quote I can recall from author
Maya Angelo. Michael Savage HATED her, said she was wildly overrated. Methinks Mike had a little professional jealousy going on.
Dear Women:
The minute, no second, your online Romeo asks you for money, say goodbye and block his email address. Stop being saps, patsies, mugs, marks, targets, easy pickings, gullible, rubes, etc.
Unsolved Mysteries profiled more than a few women who got conned.
I’ve been watching reruns on Roku.
I watched this. I was struck how these very good looking women could fall for a swarthy-looking skeeze ball like that, but there WAS all the money, fabulous trips and stuff. Each one was paying for those trips with the next sucker.
I was struck how openly, almost happily they talked about it discussing all the payouts they made and the tricks they fell for UNTIL it dawned on me that the three were very likely made whole $-wise by Netflix on this for doing the series. In the end, it looks like the swindler is stuck in Israel and cut off from Tinder-type scam access and having to live the life he deserves now. I’m glad the women were able to do something about it and maybe get some of their money back.
I know what God and the Bible has to say on that subject. This isn’t Stormfront, dude. We have many Jewish FReepers here, and for those that aren’t, I’d say we’re overwhelmingly pro-Zionist.
If you've spent the past few days binge-watching The Tinder Swindler, you're not alone.
Can you "binge-watch" one 2 hour episode?
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