On their first date, back in January 2018, Simon Leviev took Cecilie Fjellhøy on a private plane from London to Bulgaria just for a night. They had met on Tinder, and after a coffee date at his hotel, he’d expressed regret that he had to leave for a business trip… but maybe she’d like to join him? She googled her date—he was the son of the “king of diamonds” Lev Leviev, a famed Russian-Israeli diamond oligarch. She quickly went home and packed a bag while his driver waited. It was the beginning of a whirlwind relationship that would ultimately leave her heartbroken, deceived, and more than $200,000 in debt. Netflix’s latest true crime documentary The Tinder Swindler allows Cecilie, along with Pernilla Sjöholm and Ayleen Charlotte—just three of Simon Leviev's many victims—to tell their stories.

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Born Shimon Hayut in Bnei Brak, a city just east of Tel Aviv, Simon Leviev did change his name, but in fact had no relation to the Israeli diamond tycoon family whatsoever. He initially fled Israel in 2011 to avoid going to trial for fraud-related crimes he’d committed in his early 20s and headed to Finland, where he reportedly began running the scheme now outlined in Netflix’s new documentary. In 2015, he served 2 years in Finnish prison after swindling three women, and upon his 2017 release, he went back to Israel. Before he could be arrested, he escaped again, heading back to Europe, where The Tinder Swindler picks up with Cecilie’s story.

Cecilie Fjellhøy recounts her experience dating the con man in Netflix’s new doc.

His scheme, according to the Netflix doc, was as follows: he would meet women on Tinder, lead them to believe he was a wealthy heir working in the dangerous diamond business, and begin long-distance relationships. All the while, he was “traveling for work” and living lavishly on the dime of his previous target. After he’d been dating one woman for a while, he’d explain that he was in danger, send videos of his “bodyguard” bleeding, and tell his girlfriend that he needed to use a credit card in someone else’s name so he couldn’t be tracked. According to the film, his girlfriends sent credit cards, took out loans and lines of credit, and even flew suitcases of withdrawn cash to him in his time of need. He promised them he’d pay them back. Of course they believed him, he was the prince of diamonds, flew private everywhere, stayed at the fanciest hotels, and was always dripping in designer clothing. And he did pay them back: with checks that bounced, fake watches, and bank transfers that never went through. Little did each woman know that all the wealth they bore witness to had been paid for by the woman who came before them—women her were, by that time, alone, in debt, and desperate for answers.

Courtesy of Netflix

A wanted man in Israel, Sweden, England, Germany, Denmark, and Norway, Leviev was finally caught by the police using a fake passport in Greece in July of 2019 and extradited to Israel after the wild events of Netflix’s documentary. At the time, he denied all charges against him. “I have the right to choose whatever name I want, I never presented myself as the son of anyone, but people use their imaginations,” he told Israel’s Channel 12 news. “Maybe their hearts were broken during the process… I never took a dime from them; these women enjoyed themselves in my company, they traveled and got to see the world on my dime,” he said.

In December of 2019, he was convicted of theft, fraud, and forgery of documents in Israel—charges from 2011, unrelated to his crimes across Europe—and sentenced to 15 months in prison. After serving five months of jail time, he was released on good behavior.

Pernilla Sjöholm aided Norwegian newspaper VG in first breaking the story of Simon Leviev’s cons.

“How can you give trust to a man like that, who escaped from Israel twice? A man that deceived and swindled women in Europe for hundreds of thousands of euros. Where is the justice?” Pernilla Sjöholm told Israel’s Channel 12 news when the news of Leviev's release from prison broke. "Myself and some other women filed lawsuits against him with the European Court of Justice and submitted complaints against him with Interpol,” said a Finnish woman who wished to remain anonymous. “Private investigators and Interpol people are waiting for him to leave Israel to arrest him,” said another victim. “He ruined my life and shattered me emotionally and financially."

Currently 31 years old, Simon Leviev lives as a free man in Israel and is currently dating Israeli model Kate Konlin, according to Instagram stories shown in The Tinder Swindler. Before the documentary premiered, his account was active with nearly 100,000 followers, although it was set to private. But as the work gained popularity, Leviev deactivated his Instagram altogether. Before deleting the account, he wrote: "Thank you for all your support. 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."

Leviev recently spoke out in a new interview with Inside Edition, claiming that The Tinder Swindler isn't accurate. "They present it as a documentary but in truth, it's like a complete[ly] made-up movie," he said, sitting next to his girlfriend Konlin. "I'm not a Tinder swindler. I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder. I'm not this monster...People don't know me so they cannot judge me. I'm the biggest gentleman in the world."

But the real Leviev diamond family might disagree. They've filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Simon Leviev in Tel Aviv for defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of trademarks, and impersonation. "Shimon Hayut 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," Chagit Leviev, the daughter of Lev Leviev, said in a statement to E! News on February 28. "He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds." The family is hoping that their lawsuit will force Simon to "face justice and get the sentence he deserves," and their attorney has stated that this is only the beginning, and more lawsuits will follow. In response, a rep for Simon told E! News that "Simon believes the family is just trying to insert themselves in the narrative for publicity after the show's success," and that "Simon also legally changed his name in 2015 and looks forward to this getting thrown out in court."

Simon Leviev has also recently signed with L.A.-based talent manager Gina Rodriguez (not the actress you're thinking of with the same name). According to a representative from Gitoni (her agency), he hopes to write a book, host a podcast in which he offers dating dos and don’ts, and star in a show in which women compete for his love. “I was intrigued with the Netflix story. I saw the world’s greatest salesman,” Rodriguez said in a statement to L.A. Mag. “But it left me with a lot of unanswered questions and was very biased. I believe there are two sides to every story and everyone should have the chance to tell their side of the story.” (That's certainly one way to look at it. Wonder what his girlfriend thinks of his dating show pitch.)

Simon Leviev has not been charged for any crimes that may have occurred outside of Israel, including the alleged conning of Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, or Ayleen Charlotte, who appear in Netflix’s doc. According to The Times of Israel, he may have swindled an estimated $10 million dollars from victims across the continent from 2017-2019 alone. Cecilie, Pernilla, and Ayleen are still paying off their debts.

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