The conman, wanted by Interpol, allegedly swindled women he met on a dating app out of $10 million.
Simon Leviev, the Israeli national known as the ‘Tinder Swindler,’ has been apprehended in Georgia, according to reports citing the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The arrest was reportedly based on an international warrant from Interpol.
Leviev rose to international prominence after the Netflix documentary ‘The Tinder Swindler’ (2022) detailed how he allegedly conned women he met on the dating app, defrauding them of around $10 million.
The documentary tells the story of the 35-year-old who allegedly posed as the son of Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev. He allegedly used this false identity to lure women on Tinder with displays of wealth, including private jets and yachts, convincing them he was a rich heir. After gaining their trust, he allegedly persuaded them to lend him large sums of money under false pretenses, which he never repaid.
“I spoke with him this morning after the detention, but we still don’t know the cause,” his lawyer Shagiv Rotenberg told Walla news, adding that Leviev had been traveling freely prior to the arrest.
Before the Tinder scheme, Leviev was reportedly jailed in Finland and Israel for crimes such as forgery, theft, and child neglect.
In December 2024, an Israeli court reportedly ordered him to pay 415,000 shekels ($124,000) to Kate Conlin, one of his alleged victims. The lawsuit claimed Leviev threatened Conlin and forced her to take out loans, which he didn’t repay.
New lawsuits against Leviev reportedly include a 414,000 shekel ($123,500) claim from Iren Tranov, as well as a lawsuit from the Leviev family over alleged reputational damage.
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