Simon Leviev: The tale of the protagonist of Netflix documentary ‘Tinder Swindler’

Sharanya Alva, Mar 14, 2022, 2:30 PM IST

Have you ever been on a worst date? Was he/she boring? or Did you find red flags all over the place? Well, dating is unpredictable and we may have to deal with ‘bad dates’ at times. But for these women, the bar for “bad date” maybe a little bit higher.

In January 2018, Cecilie Fjellhoy, a native of Norway met Simon Leviev on tinder. After a coffee date at his hotel, Simon asked Cecilie to join him on his business trip to Bulgaria, to which she readily agreed.

She googled her date and found that he was the son of the “king of diamonds” Lev Leviev, a Russian-Israeli businessman. Thrilled by this Cecilie soon began to dream of her life with the ‘Prince of the diamond’.

But, as they say, all that sparkles is not a diamond. Little did she know that her ‘oh-so-wonderful’ date will soon leave her heartbroken and in heavy debt.

Simon Leviev aka Shimon Yehuda Hayut is a sweet-talking conman who allegedly used the Tinder app to defraud women across Europe. He was born in 1990 in Ramat Elchanan, Bnei Brak, Israel.

At the age of 15 he moved to Brooklyn, New York in the US with his family’s friends, Shimon was later accused of misusing their credit cards.

Leviev has been committing minor cons like cheque fraud since he was a teenager. He later changed his legal name from Shimon Hayut to Simon Leviev.

Credit: Woman’s Health

His victims

Simon used dating apps to meet multiple women and used their credit cards to live a lavish lifestyle. His modus operandi was very simple, he would send a picture of Peter, his bodyguard covered in blood, and claim that he was attacked by his enemies. Simon would then claim that all his credit cards have been blocked and he urgently needs money. Later, he would ask the victims to borrow loans from various banks and used the money to cheat other victims.

Cecilie Fjellhoy

Cecilie was one of the victims who took her story to the Norwegian newspaper VG and later shared it for the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler.

Credit: Ladbible

After their first date in Bulgaria, Cecilie believed Simon to be her ‘soulmate’ and also began looking for apartments to move in with him. He showered her with lavish gifts and trips using the money he had taken from other victims.

But despite hundreds of red roses and lots of love and attention, Leviev scammed her out of £200,000 in the 13 weeks after their first date. Simon had also given a fake cheque to her which of course bounced.

Cecilie claimed that she felt suicidal as she had taken loans from 9 banks and her mail was filled with emails asking to repay the loan.

She realized that police were of no help and approached the Norwegian newspaper VG who then helped her in tracking Simon. She remains close to another of Simon Leviev’s victims, Pernilla Sjoholm.

Pernilla Sjoholm

Pernilla is a Stockholm-based independent business owner and she met Leviev in March 2018. After their first date, they chose to be friends and flew to various countries together.

Credit: Ladbible

Simon then used the same tactics with her and demanded money. Pernilla being a good friend gave him a certain amount which she had kept aside to buy a house. He promised to return her money but never did.

Pernilla was contacted by journalists from VG and upon confronting him, Simon said, “If you double-cross me, you will pay for the rest of your life”. Pernilla responded, “I am paying for it.”

Pernilla had also claimed that Simon had introduced a Russian model, Polina as his girlfriend. She said that Simon was apparently “smitten” over Polina and seemed like the only girl with who he had not ‘borrowed’ money.

It is said that Polina broke up with Simon immediately after she found out that he had been cheating on her.

Ayleen Charlotte

Ayleen Charlotte is one of the victims of Simon Leviev who had transferred a total of $140,000 to him over the course of their relationship. She found out about her boyfriend from a newspaper article just as she was boarding a flight.

Credit: Netflix

She confronted him and he denied all the allegations. But unlike other victims, Ayleen did not accept defeat, she thought of a plan to ‘Swindle the swindler’. Ayleen pretended to remain loyal and continued chatting with Simon. He began to ask for money as he needed it for his expenses.

Ayleen thought of a plan to recover her lost money. As she works in the luxury fashion industry, Ayleen knew that Simon only wore branded clothes that are worth a fortune. She convinced him to hand over his clothes to her so that she could sell them and give him money.

He agreed and Ayleen collected all his expensive branded clothes. Taking his luxury items from brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Louis Vuitton and selling them on eBay, Ayleen made thousands and kept the earnings for herself.

“Of course, it wasn’t in line with everything that I gave him, but it felt like a little bit of payback,” she said.

That is not it, she also tipped off the police when he was getting on a flight, resulting in the authorities finally catching up with him and his crimes. Take a bow, Queen.

His arrest

He was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraud in Israel soon after. Simon was released from prison after five months and Tinder has confirmed that he has no known active profiles and has been permanently banned from the site.

Credit: Cosmopolitan

At the end of the documentary, Simon is shown living a lavish lifestyle and it is said that he now runs a business website where he gives business advice for a fee.

After the release of the documentary, he denied all allegations against him. He claimed that it is a completely made-up movie. “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder. I’m not this monster,” he said.

Simon is now said to be dating Israeli model Kate Konlin. She claims the Tinder Swindler told her everything about his past and reputation.

Credit: The independent

However, Karma caught up with Simon and life has been going downhill for him now. The real Leviev family has sued Simon Leviev calling himself a ‘Leviev’.

Chagit Leviev, the daughter of Lev Leviev, told ‘People’, “Simon is a fraud who stole our family’s identity and has tried to exploit our good name to con victims out of millions of dollars.”

“I am relieved that his real identity and actions have been globally exposed, and hopefully this will bring an end to his unscrupulous actions. The lawsuit we filed today is just the first step out of many we will be taking to have him face justice and get the sentence he deserves,” she added.