Authorities arrest 'Tinder Swindler' Simon Leviev upon arrival in Batumi, Georgia
The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.
The “Tinder Swindler,” 35-year-old Simon Leviev (born in Bnei Brak as Shimon Yehuda Hayut), was arrested Sunday morning by Georgian authorities after landing at Batumi airport.
The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys. “I spoke with him this morning after he was detained, but we don’t yet understand the reason,” his attorney told Walla. “He has been traveling freely around the world.”
Leviev is an Israeli conman who, according to the Netflix film documenting his schemes, spent years posing as the heir to the Leviev diamond fortune while luring women through the dating app Tinder.
Lies spread by Leviev
He would present them with a lavish lifestyle - private jets, luxury hotels, expensive cars - to gain their trust, and later convinced them to transfer large sums of money under various pretenses, mainly claiming he was in danger and needed urgent financial help.
In November, another lawsuit was filed against Leviev following a complaint by his former acquaintance, Iren Tranov. Tranov is suing Leviev for 414,000 shekels, claiming she lent him over 144,000 shekels, which he never repaid.
According to Tranov, the loan was given in October 2022, and in a conversation recorded that same day, Leviev promised to return the money. Despite his assurances, she alleges these promises were empty, and now finds herself in a difficult financial situation as a result of Leviev’s false commitments.
A criminal complaint was filed against him in March 2024 by Ephraim and Ruthy Leviev Yelizarov, the latter being the daughter of businessman Lev Leviev, with their family members claiming that he damaged their reputation when Simon impersonated their brother.
Throughout the hearing, Simon carried out the cross-examination of the witnesses after choosing not to be represented by a lawyer.
https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-867462