Police in Israel Open Probe on 'Tindler Swindler'
July 18, 22
(IDEX Online) - A criminal investigation has reportedly been opened in Israel against "Tinder Swindler" Shimon Hayut, following a complaint from the Leviev family, owners of Leviev Diamonds.
It follows Netflix's true-crime documentary which told how Hayut, 31, seduced numerous women over the Tinder dating app with his jet set lifestyle, then persuaded them to hand over money with claims that his life was being threatened.
Hayut, 31, (pictured) legally changed his name to Simon Leviev, posed as CEO of the company and styled himself as Prince of Diamonds.
Hayut posed as Simon Leviev on Tinder and pretended to be the son of millionaire Lev Leviev and scammed women around the world of thousands of dollars.
The Levievs filed a complaint against Hayut at a Tel Aviv court, alleging he had harmed the family name.
"We got a lawyer who will represent us and will do everything to bring this scammer to justice," Hagit Leviev, CEO Leviev Group USA and daughter of Lev Leviev, told the Jerusalem Post.
"This crook stole our identity. All our gains from this lawsuit will be donated to his victims."
Hayut was arrested in Athens and later jailed in Israel in December 2019. He was released early because of coronavirus and served only five months of a 15-month term.