Recently HBO Max released a documentary titled The Tinder Swindler in February. It is, of course, about a man who conned a bunch of women out of their money. I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and my jaw dropped at the result of the documentary. The Swindler only got 15 months in prison, getting released at five months, for the same crime he committed in Israel but no charge for the crimes allegedly committed in other nations while the case victims are still in severe debt. It is insane how he got off scot-free and didn’t get a harsher sentence or have to pay back those women for what he did. Yes, of course, these women are not 100% innocent since how could anyone believe that a supposed millionaire needs money, but it still shouldn’t excuse what they went through and invalidate them. He is living his best life with a new girlfriend as if none of this ever happened. Watching this opened my eyes even further to the brokenness of the justice system.

Shimon Heyada Hayut, famously known as Simon Leviev or the Tinder Swindler, began his journey in 2011 when he was convicted of fraud, theft, and forgery in Israel. He fled the country to Europe and would later be caught in 2019. During his time running away from the law, he began going on Tinder and created a false identity as Simon Leviev, the “son” of the owner of Leviev Diamonds. He successfully tricked people he met on Tinder, and by the time Hayut had been arrested, he allegedly conned them out of 10 million dollars. It took many years, but he was finally caught in Greece after Finnish journalists learned about his previous arrest in 2015 for fraud. During that time, he faced two years in jail. He was sent back to Israel to face the consequences of his actions and faced 15 months in prison, but he was released ten months early due to his good behavior. 

Viewers would believe that there would be a happy ending where the victims were given their money back or that Hayut would be investigated further, perhaps uncovering other victims. However, this is real life, and there is no happy ending. 

After this, the three women who spoke out and contributed to his arrest still suffer from debt. Meanwhile, Hayut lives off the thousands of dollars he got from his scheme. He even has a new girlfriend! So why isn’t he suffering any harsh consequences? Why is he free? Sadly, the case is too vast for him to face prosecution.

In an interview with The Making of a Swindler hosts, international criminal law expert Ben Keith says, “I don’t think anybody suggests that what he did was in a moral gray area. Or even necessarily in a legal gray area. It is just ‘very difficult’ to gather enough evidence against someone who allegedly committed so many crimes across various jurisdictions.” Hayut’s crime is way too complex to figure out and would take years to pin down all of his victims and gather enough evidence to bring him to justice. Each country has different laws against fraud. The only reason he was finally caught was that Cecilie Fjellhøy got in contact with Verdens Gang, the most popular newspaper in Norway, to investigate her case. When they published the article, this sparked his downfall after Ayleen Charlotte saw the article and decided to trick the trickster. If not for that article, who knows if Hayut would have continued his act.

At least, in the end, Leviev Diamonds are taking action against Hayut and are planning on suing him. In addition, Tinder terminated his account so people won’t fall for his tricks ever again on their platform. The documentary is also getting the story out so other people can learn from this, especially during the pandemic, where online dating has become more popular, and people have become more vulnerable out of desperation to connect with others.