Netflix dropped the documentary The Tinder Swindler, directed by Felicity Morris, on Wednesday (2 February). The documentary follows the con man Shimon Hayut who allegedly met women on Tinder and catfished them by pretending to be ‘Simon Leviev’.
Tinder said in a statement, “We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases," Variety reported.
In a separate report, the publication stated that Netflix is in talks with producers to make the documentary into a feature film.
Hayut led people to believe that he was the son of an Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev and asked them to give him money often faking a threat to his life. He convinced people to get American Express credit cards and lend him money.
The documentary features three of his victims who recounted their experience with Hayut and one person said that she loaned Hayut approximately $140000. Another woman has been declared bankrupt in the United Kingdom and has incurred a debt of $270,000.
The Tinder Swindler contains interviews with the three women who worked with journalists from the Norwegian paper VG to uncover Hayut's identity.
Hayut is currently a free man living in Israel. He was earlier imprisoned there in December 2019 and served five months of his 15-month prison sentence.
While Hayut has deleted his Instagram account, The Independent shared a message he shared for his followers before doing so, “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. Until then, please keep an open mind and heart.”
Journalist Erlend Ofte Arntsen, who covered Hayut’s cases and is also a part of the documentary, said that Hayut once scammed a family in New York for $42000.
(With inputs from Variety)
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