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19th Feb 2022

Simon Leviev claims he’s not the Tinder Swindler in first ever interview

Ellen Fitzpatrick

He’s speaking out.

Simon Leviev, the man that the latest Netflix true crime documentary revolves around, is now claiming that he isn’t the Tinder Swindler.

In his first interview since the documentary aired, Simon has defended himself against allegations that he is a fraudster who conned millions of women out of thousands through dating apps.

In a preview of his interview with Inside Edition, he says: “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder. I am not a Tinder Swindler.”

Simon’s real name is believed to be Shimon Hayut and he was joined by his Israeli model girlfriend Kate Konlin during the interview.

Kate has also spoken out against the allegations made against Simon, deeming them “absurd” and has claimed he has shown her documentation that has proved his innocence.

Simon has been banned from dating apps like OkCupid, Hinge and Match after he was found to have posed as the son of a diamond tycoon and used his charm and lifestyle to trick women into giving him massive amounts of money.

In the recent Netflix documentary on him, it found that Leviev would then use the money that one woman would give him to seduce another by buying private jet rides or luxury hotel stays.

He claimed that he was in danger from “enemies” to trick the women and featured women who have claimed to be tricked by him.

Simon himself posted on social media this week to defend himself and criticised those who claim he scammed them.

“If I was a fraud why would I act on Netflix I mean they should have arrested me when we were still shooting,” he wrote.

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

One victim Cecilie Fjellhøy claims she was in a psychiatric ward after he conned her out of £185,000 while Pernilla Sjöholm only found out about the fraud when she was contacted by journalists investigating him.