‘Tinder Swindler’ actor Shimon Hayut sued for millions by real-life Leviev Diamond family
Shimon Hayut aka Simon Leviev, the villain and the star of the Netflix new docu-film 'The Tinder Swindler,' is being sued for millions by the real Leviev family he once claimed to be a part of. The Israeli Russian diamond mogul Lev Leviev and his family including daughter Chagit Leviev, the CEO of Leviev Group USA, filed a lawsuit against the notorious conman for allegedly impersonating them and deceptively giving himself in their tag.
The lawsuit, filed in Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court in Israel, reads, "For a long time, he [Simon Leviev] has been making false representations as being the son of Lev Levievand receiving numerous benefits (including material ones)." The document also claims that Hayut has been "cunningly using false words, claiming to be a member of the Leviev Family and that his family will pay and bear the costs of his benefits."
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The lawsuit was filed after the release of 'The Tinder Swindler'. Chagit said that she's in shock after watching the series and claims to be a victim of Hayut’s damage to the Leviev group. “The biggest shock is when we saw the Netflix show and we saw the extent of his damage and his manipulation,” she said. “The truth is, that show is just the tip of the iceberg. For him to live that life, he has to be conducting an international fraud of enormous proportions. There must be so many other victims.”
“He even used the LLD Diamonds trademark to make his victims believe that he was indeed part of the diamond company (it’s CEO no less, per his signature) and was a member of the Leviev Family.”
The lawsuit filed in the court states that the diamond tycoon’s family has held Simon, who was born as Shimon Hayut for “defrauded, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men and businesses” both in Israel and worldwide.
“The defendant used the dating application ‘Tinder’ to locate women who he then emotionally manipulated, cunningly bamboozled of funds, and eventually convinced to transfer large sums of money to him under the guise of being on the run from individuals intending on hurting him,” the lawsuit stated.
The daughter of Lev Leviev and an heiress Leviev Diamonds Chagit Leviev shared on her social media that Shimon is a “fraud who stole our family’s identity and has tried to exploit our good name to con victims out of millions of dollars.” She further wrote, “He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds. I am relieved that his real identity and actions have been globally exposed, and hopefully this will bring an end to his unscrupulous actions. The lawsuit we filed today is just the first step out of many we will be taking to have him face justice and get the sentence he deserves.”
Chagit asked the Israeli police to track Simon as he “was moving through so many different countries.”
Hayut has previously been jailed for fraud, theft, and forgery, and was sentenced to 15 months in December 2019, although he was released five months later.