The Tinder Swindler Proves He's Not Ready To Get Out Of The Public Eye
When Netflix's true crime documentary "The Tinder Swindler" launched on the streaming platform, it quickly went viral. The documentary, which follows three victims of a convicted fraudster whom they all met through the dating app, was the first documentary to top Netflix's weekly film chart, per Deadline.
But while the documentary ended, the lives of those in it continued moving forward. The three victims featured in the documentary — Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, and Ayleen Koeleman — were just a few of many others the "Tinder Swindler" was able to get "millions" from, according to the documentary. On her podcast, "Crime Analyst," Laura Richards explains that his pattern was always the same: "After a luxurious and ostentatious date, he followed up with many extravagant gifts, and he'd convince the women to take out loans and lines of credit under their names to 'help' and 'protect' him from the 'many enemies' who were out to get him in the diamond business."
The man these women were victims of, Simon Leviev, has actually already served jail time for fraud in two different countries. According to Insider, Leviev, whose real name was Shimon Hayut, served two years in Finland after being convicted on charges of defrauding women in 2015. Leviev has served jail time as recently as 2019, when he only served five of the fifteen months he was sentenced sentence in Israel. Currently, Leviev is wanted in England, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and Norway, Esquire reports.
The Tinder Swindler was guilty of more than fraud
Since "The Tinder Swindler" came out on Netflix, Simon Leviev — aka Shimon Hayut — has faced little to no consequences for serious actions. As Laura Richards, a criminal behavioral analyst and domestic violence expert, put it on her podcast "Crime Analyst," Leviev is someone who "coercively controlled, economically abused, exploited, and manipulated women into parting with hundreds of thousands of dollars."
According to Richards, what Leviev has done is worse than fraud, and now, he's getting exactly what he wants: money, power, and attention. "He feels powerful," she explains in that same podcast episode. "He wants to be seen. This is absolutely about power and control."
For Richards, Leviev's behaviors were "learned and perfected." He used Tinder as his hunting ground, but was careful to cultivate a shallow social media existence that made it look like he was real. While he did have an Instagram account linked to his Tinder profile that had over 100,000 followers, Richards notes he wasn't actually following any accounts. The Instagram account was specially cultivated for anyone doing a passive check of his authenticity. You have to look beyond post count and how many followers they have.
In a recent interview, Leviev told Inside Edition he was on Tinder just looking to meet someone. However, Richards believes differently: "it's a game for his enjoyment, and he uses the last women for the future women," she said on her podcast, before adding, "It's parasitic."
This is The Tinder Swindler's new job
While Simon Leviev has been banned from Tinder, Match.com, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid, he appears to be facing little to no fallout from his unmasking, Bustle reports.
In fact, Leviev is recently back in the news because of two major announcements that he's working with a talent manager, Gina Rodriguez, and recently started selling personalized messages through Cameo (via LADbible). "He should be in prison," Laura Richards says in an Instagram update on Leviev's latest news. "We should not be holding him up like he's some kind of celebrity. It's absolutely morally, ethically, and legally bankrupt." In another update, Richards reminds followers that profiting from crimes is against the law in the United States.
In a statement released once the "Tinder Swindler" made it to the "new and noteworthy" roster, Cameo says they believe "customers are in control," Business Insider reports. Currently, Leviev is charging $199 for personal videos and $999 for videos for businesses on Cameo. According to TMZ, he made $30k in just the first three days he was on the platform.
However, that's not where Leviev's aspirations end. ET Online also reports he also has plans to host a dating podcast or a dating show that would see women competing for his love. Meanwhile, his victims have started a GoFundMe to help pay for the financial damage he did when he was in their lives. At the time this article was written, they've only been able to raise £162k.