'Tinder Swindler' con artist 'Simon Leviev' banned from dating app

Shimon Hayut allegedly met women on Tinder before swindling them for millions of dollars after catfishing them into believing his name was 'Simon Leviev'. Photo: Handout

The con man investigated in Netflix's new documentary The Tinder Swindler has been banned from the dating app.

Shimon Hayut allegedly met women on Tinder before swindling them for millions of dollars after catfishing them into believing his name was "Simon Leviev" and that he was the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev.

"We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases," Tinder said in a statement to Variety on Friday (Feb 4).

When the doc was released on Wednesday on Netflix, it reported that Hayut was still active on Tinder.

While Tinder has now banned him, he still has an account on Instagram with more than 200,000 followers. In an Instagram story posted on Friday, Hayut said he was preparing to tell his version of the story. However, when Variety went to his Instagram page on Friday afternoon, a notice reads that it is "no longer available".

Hayut spent five months of a 15-month sentence in an Israeli prison in 2019. He allegedly conned women into handing over cash and credit cards by telling them that his life was in danger. Three of the victims are featured in the 114-minute film, directed by Felicity Morris (Don't F*** With Cats), as are reporters from Norwegian newspaper VG, which helped bring him to justice.

Variety exclusively reported on Friday that Netflix is in talks with producers about adapting the documentary as a feature film.

The Tinder Swindler debuted on the streaming service on Wednesday, and it has already reached the platform's Top 10 lists in the United States and Britain. - Reuters