Israeli national Simon Leviev, infamously known as the ‘Tinder Swindler,’ was detained upon his arrival at Batumi International Airport. The information was released by Leviev’s lawyer.
Leviev, born Shimon Yehuda Hayut, first gained worldwide notoriety after the 2022 Netflix documentary ‘The Tinder Swindler’ detailed his elaborate scams. The film alleged that he posed as the son of diamond tycoon Lev Leviev to deceive women he met on Tinder, deceiving victims and banks out of an estimated $1 billion through a Ponzi-style scheme.
The reasons for his arrest in Georgia remain unclear. Speaking to the Israeli outlet ‘Walla’, his attorney said: “I spoke with him this morning after he was detained, but we don’t yet understand the reason. He has been traveling freely around the world.”
This is not Leviev’s first brush with the law. In 2019, he was arrested in Greece and extradited to Israel where he was convicted of fraud, forgery and theft. He received a 15-month prison sentence but served only five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the documentary’s release, Leviev denied wrongdoing in an interview with CNN, insisting that the allegations against him were unfounded.
