The main actor of the popular Netflix true-crime documentary The Tinder Swindler.
He was accused of pretending to be a member of the Leviev family to attract women on the dating app Tinder, before allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims. According to E! News.
In a statement to E! News, Chagit Leviev, the daughter of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev and an heiress to the family’s fortune, said the multi-million dollar lawsuit aims to get Simon (born Shimon Hayut) to “face justice and get the sentence he deserves.”
“Shimon Hayut 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 said in a statement to E! News on Feb 28. “He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds.”
While she is not listed as a plaintiff in the suit, her relatives Zevulun Leviev, Ayelet Leviev Jacobson, Ruthy Leviev Yelizerov and Hagit Sofiev Leviev are, along with company LLD Diamonds USA, LLC, according to the filing.
The lawsuit filed in Tel Aviv, Israel, states that Simon “has been making false representations as being the son of Lev Leviev and receiving numerous benefits (including material ones),” per the suit. The documents also state that Simon “defrauded, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men and businesses” around the world while “impersonating” as a member of their family and using their “wealthy” reputation.
The family alleges that Simon took “without permission” a photo of Lev and Ayelet and used Photoshop to edit himself into the family shot. Per the suit, “He presented the ‘fixed’ photo to women and men as proof of being a Leviev family member, thereby making a misrepresentation that he is a part of the family, and did so to generate personal profit and mislead the public.”
Adapted from E!News
