When swiping right goes wrong: Looking back at some of ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev’s victims
International catfisher Simon Leviev—and his many known aliases—has been permanently banned from dating app Tinder for good. To recall, Leviev made rounds online after the release of Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler.
The damning documentary revolves around Leviev’s (whose real name is Shimon Hayut) catfishing scams in a bid to take advantage of single women. Some of his victims also spoke about their experiences with him—and how they teamed up to give him a taste of his own medicine.
The documentary also reported that Leviev was sentenced to 15 months in jail for crimes committed in Israel. However, he only served for five months and was released due to the pandemic.
Below are just some of his victims in his controversial con.
Ayleen Charlotte
Ayleen was one of the many women who was scammed by Leviev on Tinder. In the documentary, the 26-year-old admitted that she was initially amazed by his designer wardrobe and being taken on impressive dates like eating at expensive restaurants and going on private flights.
Ayleen gained the attention of social media after revealing that she managed to tip off the police to catch up with Leviev and his many crimes.
Pernilla Sjoholm
Sjoholm became a household name after opening up about her experiences with Leviev. According to the Swedish TV actress, Leviev told them he was the “son of an Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev,” only to discover that it was a lie.
The 35-year-old actress went on to share that Leviev faked that his life was in “danger” while asking his victims to loan money for “ransom.”
“I went into the bank and they sort of legitimized the transfer, they just said, ‘Oh everything is fine, the money’s going to come soon’... You go into your bank, you have so much faith in the system, you would think they would know if something is wrong,” Sjoholm said.
Cecilie Fjellhoy
Interestingly enough, Fjellhoy also had the same experience with Leviev. Their budding romance started with a date in a posh London hotel which led to her being conned out of thousands of pounds.
Fjellhoy revealed that Leviev became “aggressive and demanding” in asking for more money from his victims. The 33-year-old added that he would send “threatening voice notes on Whatsapp” which left his victims in major debt.
The actual number of Leviev’s victims remains unknown—with a staggering majority still being unnamed, as of this writing. Despite this, Fjellhoy and Sjoholm said in the documentary they’re “aware of Simon’s 15 to 20 victims” and he didn’t just target “vulnerable women.”
