In the world of Netflix documentaries, we know to expect a wild ride. But nothing could have prepared us for the events of The Tinder Swindler.

The worst thing about dating apps is definitely not being ghosted, the new documentary shows us as, actually, a fraudster is just one swipe away.

Following the story of Simon Leviev – also known as Shimon Hayut – a prolific conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on Tinder, The Tinder Swindler also tells the story of the women that he tricked out of millions of dollars.

But one question rang out to us after initially watching the documentary – and still persists some time after watching also. Where is Simon Leviev now? 

Well, as of right now, Simon continues to make waves online. This time round, though, it looks like others are finally getting a chance to speak up. The Leviev family – the real-life diamond tycoon family that Simon pretended to be a part of – has filed a major lawsuit against him. 

One of the main things that struck us after watching the doc was the fact that Simon managed to effortlessly pull off the lie that he was part of the billionaire Leviev family. Well now, Chagit Leviev, the daughter of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev and an heiress to the family’s fortune, has said that the multi-million dollar lawsuit aims to get Simon to “face justice and get the sentence he deserves.”

In a statement to E! News, Chagit said: “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 continued: “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, which has been filed in Tel Aviv, Israel, states that Simon “has been making false representations as being the son of Lev Leviev and receiving numerous benefits (including material ones).” It goes on to state that Simon “defrauded, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men and businesses” globally while “impersonating” as a member of their family and using their “wealthy” reputation.

The family alleges that Simon used a photo of the Leviev’s “without permission” and used Photoshop to edit himself into the family shot. As per the suit: “He presented the ‘fixed’ photo to women and men as proof of being a Leviev family member, thereby making a misrepresentation that he is a part of the family, and did so to generate personal profit and mislead the public.”

Most recently, Simon has also denied all claims of being a fraud in a recent interview with Inside Edition.

In the conversation around the Netflix documentary, Leviev stated that he has hopes of clearing his name and denied being a ‘Tinder Swindler’. “I’m not this monster,” he said, “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”

Speaking about the women featured in the series – Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, and Ayleen Charlotte – he said: “They weren’t conned and they weren’t threatened.”

Leviev also cleared up ‘rumours’ that he’d previously posed as the son of a billionaire diamond mogul. He stated: “No I am not, and I never presented myself [as such].” He also said that he didn’t “feel bad” for the women in the documentary because he didn’t do what’s been alleged.

If you’ve happened to see his Instagram recently, you’ll know that his luxury lifestyle shows no signs of slowing down. So, how can he afford it? He explains that he’s actually “a legit businessman,” also stating that he bought Bitcoin in 2011 but doesn’t “need to say how much it’s worth now.” 

He concluded: “I want to clear my name, I want to say to the world, this is not true … I’m not a fraud and I’m not a fake. People don’t know me so they cannot judge me.” 

Leviev has also been very vocal in his criticism of a GoFundMe page set up by his victims.

Fjellhøy, Sjöholm and Charlotte are reportedly still paying off their debts so have recently set up a GoFundMe page to help repay their enormous losses. 

They write on their GoFundMe: “After careful consideration, and many chats, we have decided to start this GoFundMe fundraiser. So many people reached out to us asking if we had one, and it hadn’t occurred to us to make one prior to this. However, we’ve spotted plenty of fakes, which makes us uneasy. We don’t want more people getting defrauded.

“We realise there are a thousand other worthy causes to donate to, and remain forever grateful if you choose to donate to this one. All we want are our lives back.”

On Wednesday 9 February, though, Leviev took to his Instagram to address the existence of the page and spoiler alert: he’s not happy.

Posting a screenshot of the page on his Instagram Stories, he wrote: “Go ahead and help real associations.. not these manipulators. This is what is called MARKETING.”

This comes after Leviev has continued to open and close his Instagram over the past week, as well as denying ever being a fraud. 

Taking to Instagram on Monday 7 February, he returned (once again) and not only posted a defence of himself, but wasted no time in criticising the women he scammed.

He wrote on his Instagram Stories: “If I was a fraud why would I act on Netflix I mean they should have arrested me when we were still shooting.

“It’s high time the ladies start saying the truth. If you can’t give them world they’ll turn yours to hell.”

He then went on to add: “I will be addressing the whole world on Friday, stay tuned and tag others.” Using the hashtag #FreedomForSimon, Leviev also continues to share pictures of his flashy lifestyle and new girlfriend to the world.

His social media biography also includes the hashtags #FreeMan #NotGuilty and an email address for press enquiries – how very considerate.

Norwegian native Cecilie Fjellhøy is the central voice in the new two-hour documentary The Tinder Swindler and while the true extent of his operation is yet to be uncovered, it’s estimated that he defrauded women out of more than $10m (£7.4m).

When she met Leviev, he was posing as the so-called son of an Israeli diamond mogul and billionaire and over the course of the next few months, Fjellhøy was treated to a host of glitzy, glamorous dates that perfectly mirrored his supposed lifestyle.

What soon transpired though – after Leviev faked an assassination plot and conned Fjellhøy out of roughly £188,000 – was that he was far from who he made himself out to be. 

Actually, he had no relation to the Israeli diamond tycoon family whatsoever and was born Shimon Hayut in Bnei Brak, a city just east of Tel Aviv.

His fraud-related crimes started in his early 20s and led to him fleeing Israel in 2011 to avoid going to trial. He headed on to Finland, where he began his intricate plan of swindling women out of their money.

Then in 2015, he was caught and went to a Finnish prison for two years after conning three women but, upon his release in 2017, went back to Israel. Before he could be arrested again, though, he escaped and headed to Europe – where the events of The Tinder Swindler take place.

If you’ve watched the documentary (and if you haven’t, you definitely should), you’ll know what transpires next. Convoluted plans of espionage, deception and, most of all, a highly luxurious lifestyle with not a penny spared. 

Hayut was eventually tracked down with the help of journalists in 2019 but it only resulted in a five-month stint in jail for crimes not related to the ones he committed against the women in the documentary. That’s right, today he walks free and is said to be living in Israel.

Upon The Tinder Swindler being released on Netflix, viewers were quick to head straight to Instagram to find that Simon Leviev had an ‘official’ account but it was private. He very quickly opened his Instagram to the world – in an act of complete brazenness, we must say – and quickly amassed a big six-figure following. He then deleted it (what a social media whirlwind, right?) but now, the account is back to being private. Not before Leviev posted a statement to his social media though. 

He thanked his followers for their “support” and said: “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.”

He then added: “Until then, please keep an open mind and heart.”

From the looks of his Instagram before he closed it off, Leviev continues to live the life he has been faking all along – the fast cars, big watches and expensive clothes all seem to still be part of his daily life. 

Those last minutes of the documentary both infuriated and intrigued us all with many viewers left confused at how Leviev can still operate on Tinder. However, in a statement to Variety, the dating app has confirmed that they have banned the conman from their platform.

Tinder said: “We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases.”

When the documentary was released on Netflix, it reported that Hayut was still active on Tinder so this is a small sliver of good news, at least.

He has not been charged for any crimes that may have occurred outside of Israel, including the conning of Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, or Ayleen Charlotte, who all appear in The Tinder Swindler.

Although it seems as though Leviev has gotten away with his crimes, Fjellhøy remains convinced that this “can’t be how this story ends”, she said in an exclusive interview with Stylist. 

She added: “I want him to be held accountable, and I want people to see how messed up it is that we are the ones suffering.

“The women are always to blame, but not this time.”

The Tinder Swindler is available to stream on Netflix now. 

Image: Netflix