"Tinder Swindler" Simon Leviev: "The Netflix film is the best thing that ever happened to me"

Shimon Hayut, known by his nickname "The Tinder Swindler" and the name Simon Leviev, expresses no remorse for the Netflix documentary series that exposed his exploits to millions of viewers around the world. In an interview with the British newspaper The Times, the 35-year-old Hayut said that the series is "the best thing that ever happened to me," and that he is "laughing all the way to the bank" thanks to the publicity he received.

When asked how he feels about the women he swindled, he replied: "I'm happy to see them doing well. They are earning, I am earning too." He later added: "'The Tinder Swindler' was the best thing that ever happened to me. Call me a swindler, call me whatever you want. I don't care. At the end of the day, I'm laughing all the way to the bank."

Hayut previously served prison sentences in Finland, Greece, and Israel, and was recently imprisoned in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he described the conditions as inhumane. According to him, he spent 23 hours a day in a locked cell with six other men and lost 20 kilograms in two months.

For the first time in 15 years, he is a free man following his release from the Georgian prison in November 2025 and after the investigation against him in Germany was closed — reportedly due to insufficient evidence. The lawsuit filed against him by the Leviev diamond family has also ended. According to his lawyer, the lawsuit was withdrawn this month because the alleged offenses were committed outside of Israel, and therefore an Israeli court had no jurisdiction.

In Israel, one investigation remains open, following allegations of coercive control raised by his former partner Kate Konlin, who appeared at the end of the series.

"This is the end of years of being called a swindler, being called a bad person," Hayut said. "But I've been used to it since I was a child. It doesn't bother me."

"Only the law will change him"

One of his victims, 39-year-old Swedish businesswoman Pernilla Sjöholm, reacted to his release, saying it was a "shock" and a "disappointment." Hayut faced up to ten years in prison after being arrested in Georgia in September on suspicion of fraud totaling 38,000 pounds sterling committed in Germany against a woman from Berlin. He was held for about two months in the notorious Kutaisi prison awaiting extradition, but was released after German authorities dropped the arrest warrant.

Sjöholm, who claims she was swindled out of 39,000 pounds sterling, said she did not know at all that he was about to be released. "I wasn't notified, because my case wasn't part of the German case, so it's obviously a bit of a shock," she said. "I'm disappointed that he didn't sit for more years in prison - but he served two months, and it's a plea deal, meaning he was convicted, and that means he admitted to his crimes."

Sjöholm, who currently lives in Stockholm with her partner and young twins, noted that there are still pending lawsuits against Hayut in Israel, including the lawsuit by the wealthy Leviev family alleging that he impersonated a family member.

"This is his third conviction, and there is still an open case against him in Israel where I gave testimony," she said. "I hope that further legal proceedings will be taken against him, and that the countries where complaints were filed against him will advance the cases."

She added: "What many people don't know is that he is accused not only of romantic fraud, but also of crimes against companies and against men. This is what he has lived off since he was a teenager, it's his nature, he won't change. Only the law can change that."