Am Not Monster: Tindler Swinder Slams Netflix
New Delhi, Feb 22: Breaking his silence over the Netflix movie “Tinder Swindler” Shimon Hayut aka Simon Leviev has blasted the OTT documentary calling it “like a made up movie” and not based on facts.
The crime documentary alleges Simon is a conman who used the dating app to entice his victims, before scamming them out of thousands of dollars by claiming he was in trouble.
The Bollywood version, of “Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl” that starred Ranveer Singh in his early years in the industry, has been equally popular coming from life situations.
In the Swindler’s tale Simon of course posed as a wealthy diamond company heir, who would shower his date with gifts and affection, before asking them to wire him money in emergency scenarios. Despite being arrested and charged with fraud-related crimes, at the end of the film, it was revealed that Simon is now living as a “free man” in Israel, seen continuing his luxury lifestyle with a new girlfriend.
In conversation with Inside Edition, Simon said he wants to clear his name. “I’m not this monster,” he said, adding “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”
In a second clip shared by Entertainment Weekly, he claimed that the Netflix documentary was presented “as a documentary… in truth, [but] it’s like a complete[ly] made-up movie. I am the biggest gentleman in the world. They call me the Tinder Swindler. I am not a fraud and I am not a fake. People don’t know me so they can’t judge me.”
According to The Tinder Swindler, Simon led his women contacts he had met on Tinder into believing that he was the son and heir of diamond mogul Lev Leviev before he allegedly took them for millions.
The Netflix documentary follows an investigation in the Norwegian publication VG, which reported in 2019 that he “seduced and swindled young women for millions and is a fugitive from justice in several countries.” Even before the time frame primarily focused on in the Netflix film, Simon faced multiple charges in Israel and was sentenced to prison time in Finland. “They weren’t conned and they weren’t threatened,” Simon said of the women featured in the documentary during his interview on Inside Edition.
When questioned about whether he’s the son of a billionaire diamond mogul, he emphasized referring to the claims as false saying “No I am not, and I never presented myself [as such].” He also said he didn’t “feel bad” for the women who spoke out in the doc because he didn’t do what was alleged.
As for his lavish lifestyle, Simon explained that he’s able to fund it by being “a legit businessman,” also noting that in 2011 he bought Bitcoin. “I don’t need to say how much it’s worth now,” he said. “I want to clear my name, I want to say to the world, this is not true,” he said.
When briefly joining the interview, his girlfriend defended Simon: “My God, how someone can build such a fake stunt?” She also confirmed that Simon has never borrowed money from her. Simon was later asked what he would say to those who describe him as a “fast talker” and “a fraud and a fake.”
“I’m not a fraud and I’m not a fake. People don’t know me so they cannot judge me,” he said.
The official Tinder Swindler synopsis reads: “You’ll never ‘swipe right’ the same again after watching this new film that tells the jaw-dropping story of a prolific conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on Tinder, and the women who set out to bring him down.”
