Simon Leviev, subject of ‘the Tinder Swindler’ Netflix documentary, has been sued by the real Leviev family and owners of LLD Diamonds for “making false representations” and “claiming to be a member” of the family, online news media NBC reported on Tuesday.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Simon Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, was sued by the Leviev family for “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 will pay and bear the costs of his benefits,” a lawsuit filed in Israel’s Tel Aviv Magistrate Court stated.
In a statement released on Monday, the real Leviev family’s attorney Guy Ophir said that the lawsuit was “only the beginning of a number of lawsuits.”
“In the next [phase] we will file a monetary suit against Simon and any other affiliate that will work for him, including some websites that have joint ventures with Simon and/or have offered to buy cameos from him,” the attorney added. “Anyone that will try to capitalize from this scheme will be sued.”
According to online newspaper The Times of Israel, Ophir told Channel 12 news that Hayut has damaged the Leviev family name, and that any money recovered from Hayut via the lawsuit will be donated to his victims.
Lev Leviev’s real daughter Chagit Leviev told NBC News that the lawsuit was the “first step” to ensure that Hayut gets what he deserves.
“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. He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company, LLD Diamonds,” she said.
“I am relieved that his real identity and actions have been globally exposed, and hopefully this will bring an end to his unscrupulous actions,” added Chagit.
In a recent TV interview with Inside Edition, Hayut insisted that he was not a fraud or a fake, adding that he was “just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder,” denying that he ever posed as the son of Lev Leviev.
“I want to clear my name. I want to say to the world: this is not true. I’m not this monster that everybody created,” Hayut added, claiming that he was a “legitimate businessman” who made his fortune when he “bought Bitcoin in 2011 when it was nothing.”
According to the viral Netflix documentary, which debuted on the streaming service on February 2, Hayut posed as Lev Leviev’s son. He followed a pattern which involved scamming women who he had matched with on dating app Tinder into lending him large sums of money, which he then spent on other women and never paid them back and continued the cycle.
To avoid getting caught, he would ask the women to establish lines of credit and loans under their names after creating an emotional connection or relationship with them. To ensure that they gave him the money, he would send them pictures and videos of himself and his bodyguard which led these women to believe he was in danger.
Online news media The Times of Israel estimates that Hayut is believed to have stolen around $10 million over the years from scamming numerous women across Europe in a Ponzi scheme.
Hayut was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud in Finland in 2015. In 2019, he was also sentenced to 15 months in prison in Israel and is wanted in several countries for fraud.
He was also charged with theft, forgery and fraud for cashing stolen checks in 2011. It was reported in the documentary that he stole checkbooks belonging to a family which he was babysitting for and while working as a handyman in other peoples’ homes in Israel. He never showed up to court; instead, he fled the country.
Since the documentary was released, Hayut has since been banned from multiple dating apps including Tinder, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid and Hinge.
Read more:
Explainer: Everything you need to know about ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev
‘Psychological tactics’ being used to con people out of cash as scams rise globally
‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev denies fraud claims in TV interview
