13 February 2022

‘Tinder Swindler’ star Shimon Hayut “needs help”.

Netflix’s Tinder Swindler poster

The 31-year-old businessman has been accused of using Tinder to con a number of women out of millions of dollars, and Cecilie Schroder Fjellhoy – who claims to be one of Shimon’s alleged victims – has described him as a “mastermind at what he does”.

She told ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’: “I think that he needs help. I really feel that he needs help and I feel sorry for him. That’s what I would like to say too. I feel really, really sorry for him. A very empty life he has.”

Hayut – who is also known as Simon Leviev – has threatened to launch legal action against his accusers.

In response to the Netflix documentary, he said: “I will proceed with the lawsuit against you for discrimination and lies and, you know, everything is based basically on a lie. And that’s it, this is how it’s gonna be.”

Hayut – who previously served time in Finland for defrauding several women – also recently promised to discuss his own “side of the story”, before he disappeared from social media platforms.

The so-called Tinder Swindler wrote: “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.”

Hayut subsequently asked his followers to “keep an open mind and heart”.

In 2019, Hayut was arrested in Greece for travelling with a fake passport. He was therefore deported back to Israel, where he was sentenced to prison for 15 months for theft and forgery.

However, he was was released just five months into his sentence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.