Notorious “Tinder Swindler” Simon Leviev, who was convicted of conning women out of millions of dollars while posing as a wealthy diamond heir, has been arrested by authorities in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Leviev was detained upon arrival at Batumi International Airport on the Black Sea on Sunday morning, according to his attorney and Georgian officials.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said Leviev was picked up on a Red Notice from Interpol once he crossed into the country. It’s not immediately clear why the conman, an Israeli national, was taken into custody.
“I spoke with him this morning after he was detained, but we don’t yet understand the reason. He has been traveling freely around the world,” Leviev’s attorney told Israeli outlet Walla.
Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut, was the subject of the 2022 Netflix documentary “Tinder Swindler,” detailing his elaborate schemes on the popular dating app.
Leviev lured women on the app pretending to be the son of Russian diamond tycoon Lev Leviev and flexing a lavish lifestyle, flying on private jets and staying in ritzy hotels.
He would later convince his victims to fork over huge sums of money on various pretenses, including claiming he was in danger and urgently needed cash.
The documentary alleged that he swindled $10 million from at least a dozen women from around the globe. He was banned from dating apps after the documentary’s release.
Leviev fled Israel in 2011 before he could be sentenced on convictions of fraud, theft and forgery. He served two years in a Finnish prison from 2015 to 2017 for defrauding several women before he was sent back to Israel in 2017.
He then fled Israel again using a fake passport until Interpol caught him in Greece in 2019. He was sentenced to 15 months for the fraud he committed in Israel. Leviev was released early, in May 2020, after serving just five months amid COVID-19 prison concerns.
