The former chauffeur of the so-called 'Tinder Swindler', Shimon Hayut, has said he 'feels like a pig' for enabling the fraudster.
The London-based driver — who goes by the name 'Jamal' — said that he drove many wealthy clients around the city, and had assumed that Hayut — aka Simon Leviev — was 'just another horny billionaire'.
Speaking to the director of the hit documentary on the Making of a Swindler podcast, Jamal said, 'I feel like a pig myself. Being involved in that scenery and encouraging Simon to do what he did. It's had an effect on me. It's not nice. It's disgusting.'
Asked whether he had any inkling about Hayut's true intentions, Jamal said he had been none the wiser, describing him as a 'horny guy, just a horny, horny guy at the beginning'.
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'You would think he's a rich kid just screwing around with everybody,' he recalled, saying he seemed like just another 'flamboyant kid from a rich dad who wanted to enjoy life'.
The chauffeur said that he would be requested by Hayut to drive him and his business partner, Avishay, around in a Rolls Royce whenever they were in London. The hustler would stay at luxury hotels and meet up with as many as four or five women each day, Jamal claimed, revealing that he was even asked to work full time for the pair, with Hayut promising to pay him as much as £7,000 a day for his services.
Hayut never followed through on his offer, and following his arrest in Greece in 2019, Jamal became aware of the true identity of his former employer.
'He was hurting people. Hurting their finances, damaging them emotionally. He did that to me too,' he told the podcast.
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'The guy played an emotional part with me, promising me things that he never delivered. It's disgusting. Why would anyone do that?'
Yet despite being horrified by his actions, Jamal said he was not surprised so many people had fallen for Hayut's charms.
'You have to understand one thing: Simon is very charismatic, you want to hang around with him everyday,' he said. 'He's a very nice man, but Simon would drill himself into your heart and make you feel like you're special, and then he stabs you and leaves you.
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'Had I known who he is I never would have got involved.'
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Topics: Tinder, Netflix, Film and TV
Hannah Smith