The so-called 'Tinder Swindler' Shimon Hayut has deleted his Instagram account after a new Netflix documentary brought the story of his crimes to millions of viewers.
The series reveals how Hayut was exposed by a group of women who tracked down the con-man, after he used the popular dating app to con them out of millions of dollars by pretending to be their boyfriend.
Hayut — who changed his named to Simon Leviev in an attempt to convince targets he was related to a prominent Israeli businessman — travelled Europe using Tinder to contact women and trick them into loaning him money, which he never repaid.
The extent of his con has shocked viewers of The Tindler Swindler, which hit Netflix earlier this month, but it's also brought Hayut global fame, with the conman gaining more than 200,000 followers on his Instagram account in the wake of the documentary's release.
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Clearly uncomfortable with the backlash, Hayut released a brief statement over the weekend promising to explain his side of the story, before going dark on social media.
'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 wrote, per The Independent, adding, 'Until then, please keep an open mind and heart.'
Netflix's documentary estimates that Hayut — who had previously served time in Finland for defrauding several women — tricked his Tinder targets out of a total of more than $10 million (£7.4 million). As he travelled around various countries in Europe he would lavish his targets with gifts, expensive dinners and flights on a private jet, all of which he paid for using money stolen from other women.
Hayut would ask his targets to loan him money, often claiming that he was being threatened, and would use fake bank documents to claim he'd repaid the money.
The elaborate con was finally exposed after he was arrested in Greece in 2019 for travelling on a fake passport, before being deported back to his home country of Israel, where he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for theft and forgery charges dating back to 2012.
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Hayut was released after just five months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and remains wanted in several countries on charges of fraud and forgery.
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Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Tinder