Netflix's Tinder Swindler makes you rethink who you swipe right on. Does it work?
Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, the Tinder Swindler, is a cautionary tale worth a watch. And surprisingly, unlike most true crime stories revolving around women victims, this one is an empowering watch for female viewers despite its ending.
The documentary is based on a journalistic expose of the same title by a Norwegian tabloid newspaper VG or Verdens Gang that came out in 2019. It is about a conman who meets women on Tinder and eventually swindles them out of thousands of dollars.
WHAT IS THE STORY?
The story is about Israeli conman Simon Leviev’s victims. Three European women - Cecille Fjellhoy of Norway living in London, Pernilla Sjoholm of Sweden, and Ayleen Charlotte of The Netherlands - all swipe right with Simon Leviev on Tinder, who poses as a famous Israeli diamond billionaire’s son.
They think they are dating a wealthy businessman, but he is only funding the luxury with the money he's swindled from other women. And if you are his date, you are the next target. It's his brand of a ponzi scheme.
HOW DID SIMON CON WOMEN?
Just imagine finding the profile of a good-looking guy on Tinder; dressed in head-to-toe designer wear, with a picture on an exotic luxurious trip, who describes himself as a businessman. You would likely swipe right, if not as a romantic interest, then just for the possibility of meeting someone with THAT kind of a lifestyle.
And then you get a Tinder notification that says, the two of you matched! But of course, you do your research – Google him. You find all the right answers – he’s associated with an Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev, has these famous family pictures, has an Instagram following of over 1 lakh. There’s that social media validation enough to gain trust.
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Then comes the whirlwind of luxurious trips, dates and 'I love yous'. And then out of nowhere comes a dead-of-the-night message. His business ‘enemies’ are after him and he can't use his bank account or credit card for security reasons. He wants to use yours, which he obviously says he would pay back.
The money never reaches your account, not even when he writes a cheque for thousands of dollars more than what you lent him. Nothing reaches your account.
That’s exactly how Simon fooled his three victims. Interestingly, Pernilla and Simon only hit it off as friends and there was no romantic or physical relationship between the two. Yet, he managed to con her too.
Cecille was conned of more than $2,00,000 or Rs 1.4 crore (low-key happy I don't have that kind of money, tbh); while Ayleen lent Simon nearly Rs 1 crore; and Pernilla about Rs 33 lakh.
THE WOMEN GANG UP
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What’s empowering about the story is that the director of the documentary Felicity Morris shows the ‘victims’ as women who came together to bust the conman’s ruse. It shows the women as brave people who decided to go public despite knowing that they’ll be judged by society in a number of ways when the story comes out. Social media called them gold diggers; something they deserved, and what not when the story was first published.
However, it helped warn other similar targets.
By showing the entire emotional wavelength of the victims during the relationship, the documentary is able to make it more relatable and as if something the viewer is experiencing in the moment. While it is easy to judge the women who fell for Simon’s ruse; it is very easy for any sane person to have been in their place. Because human beings do foolish things despite their better sense and that doesn’t mean anyone has to ‘deserve it’.
One more thing the documentary reveals is the nauseating personalities of con artists like Simon. They are no Ranveer Singhs from Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. They are nothing but the run-of-the-mill f**kboi showing off expensive stuff. And if you notice, anything Simon ever says on social media is the same few lines of ‘have a great and magnificent day’.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VICTIMS AND THE CONMAN?
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The victims are sadly still paying their debts. Cecille and Pernilla have formed a friendship and are quite active on Instagram. Ayleen continues to work in the fashion industry but doesn’t seem to have a social media presence.
On the other hand, it is disappointing to see Simon Leviev or Shimon Yehuda Hayut continuing to live as a free man after being released from prison prematurely in Israel. So far, there are no charges standing against him and he continues to live the same life he was before. His Instagram account is still active and public. Though some reports say he keeps switching it back and forth from public to private.
He had cleansed his social media after the 2019 expose, but so far, the Netflix documentary doesn’t seem to have affected his social media account much. He hasn’t posted anything since October 2021; not even story highlights. However, on February 3, 2022, he had posted a story with Israeli model Kate Konlin in a luxury car.
He also put out an Instagram story in response to the Netflix documentary, saying that he will come out with his side of the story soon.
After the 2019 expose, he even gave interviews to local Israeli media outlets claiming to be innocent.
This documentary, The Tinder Swindler, is a cautionary tale, but not only for internet or Tinder strangers, but essentially almost all kinds of strangers. So, choose wisely who you lend your money to the next time and whether you are taking out debt to help another person. (Time to go back to that word of caution from Mom: Don't take toffees from strangers... especially if he seems too good - or rich - to be true.)