An Israeli diamond magnate is suing Simon Leviev, the subject of Netflix’s documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” for claiming to be a part of that family while allegedly scamming women out of millions.
Simon Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, allegedly claimed he was the son of Lev Leviev, an Israeli diamond tycoon with a net worth of $1 billion.
- The lawsuit accused him of “making false representations as being the son of Lev Leviev and receiving numerous benefits (including material ones), cunningly and using false words, claiming to be a member of the Leviev Family, and that his family (Leviev) will pay and bear the costs of his benefits,” according to NBC News.
- “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 stated, per Indie Wire.
The daughter of Lev Leviev, Chagit Leviev, said that the lawsuit was the first step in ensuring that Hayut faces justice.
- “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,” she said, per the report. “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,” Chagit Leviev added.
Hayut allegedly stole an estimated $10 million from a number of women through romantic scams. Since the Netflix series aired, he has been banned from dating apps like Tinder and Hinge.
Three of the women from the documentary set up a GoFundMe in order to help pay off their debts.