After Netflix released the Tinder Swindler documentary it was all going a little too well for the fraudster known as Simon Leviev. He signed with a Hollywood agent, made $30,000 in his first three days on Cameo by charging fans and businesses thousands for personalised videos messages— all while his victims continued to pay back the $600,000 of debt he left them in.
Which is why it feels somewhat like poetic justice to hear that Simon Leviev, who is actually called Shimon Hayut, is now being sued by the diamond tycoon that he claimed was his father in order to gain his victims’ trust and complete his fraudulent scams.
Hayut masqueraded as the son of the Israuli Russian diamond businessman Lev Leviev and even photoshopped himself into the tycoon’s family photos to use on his Tinder profile. The mogul has now filed a law suit against the fraudster for using their family name to build up his own image, People reports.
Filed in Tel Aviv, the family claims in the legal papers: ‘For a long time, he [Hayut] has been making false representations as being the son of Lev Leviev and receiving numerous benefits (including material ones).
The legal documents continue to allege that Hayut had been: ‘cunningly using false words, claiming to be a member of the Leviev family, and that his family will pay and bear the cost of his benefits’ and, as a result, they believed Hayut had ‘defrauded, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men, and businesses’ on an international level.
‘The defendant used the dating application Tinder to locate women who he then emotionally manipulated cunningly bamboozled of funds and eventually convinced to transfer large sums of money to him under the guise of being on the run from individuals intending on hurting him,’ the lawsuit said.
Meanwhile, the daughter of Lev Leviev, Chagit told reporters: ‘[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. He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds.
‘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.’
READ MORE: The Tinder Swindler: The True Story Of The Conman And His Victims Tinder Swindler: Where Are The Women Now? Is The Tinder Swindler Simon Leviev Really On TikTok?