A convicted con artist who gained notoriety as the star of the popular 2022 Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, has been arrested in Georgia, local officials confirmed.
Israeli Simon Leviev was taken into custody after arriving at Batumi airport in the southwest region of Georgia, following a request from Interpol, as stated by Georgia's interior ministry.
Leviev, 34, rose to infamy through an investigative documentary that revealed his extensive romance fraud and financial crimes, where it is estimated he swindled around $10 million (£7.4 million).
Portraying himself as a wealthy heir to a diamond mogul on Tinder, he allegedly deceived women into lending him large amounts of money, which he never repaid. Leviev has consistently denied the allegations against him.
Details regarding the exact reasons for Leviev's arrest have not been disclosed. His real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut, and he had previously been convicted of fraud in 2019 for separate charges, receiving a 15-month prison sentence, although he was released after serving just five months.
According to Ynet, an Israeli news outlet, Leviev’s lawyer reported that he had been 'traveling freely around the world'.
Leviev’s catfishing operation ran from 2017 to 2019, where he lured women into romantic relationships with promises of a luxurious lifestyle involving private jets and extravagant trips.
The victims of his schemes shared their experiences in the documentary, stating that he wooed them with lavish gifts and experiences to gain their trust before fabricating stories of being pursued by enemies to solicit large sums of money. For instance, Cecilie Fjellhøy, one of his victims, claimed that she transferred over $270,000 to him during their relationship.
In another incident last year, a woman named Iren Tranov sued Leviev in Israel for 414,000 shekels (£91,000), claiming he failed to repay more than 144,000 shekels (£31,000) she lent him.
Leviev has vehemently rejected the accusations depicted in the documentary. Additionally, former girlfriend Kate Konlin described experiencing emotional and physical abuse during their relationship, alleging he caused her injury during a confrontation.
The Tinder Swindler quickly became Netflix's most-watched documentary at its release in February 2022, captivating audiences globally.
