JAKARTA - The hugely popular Netflix real-crime documentary The Tinder Swindler was sued by the Leviev family on February 28. In the documentary, Simon Leviev is 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.
In a statement, Chagit Leviev, daughter of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev and heir to the family fortune, said the multi-million dollar lawsuit was aimed at putting Simon, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, to face the punishment he deserves.
"Shimon Hayut is a con artist who stole our family's identity and tried to exploit our good name to defraud victims of millions of dollars," Chagit was quoted as saying by E! News on Wednesday, March 2.
"He has no ties to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds."
Chagit explained that he was relieved Simon's identity and actions had been exposed globally. He hopes it will end Simon's immoral actions.
Although Chagit is not listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, his relatives Zevulun Leviev, Ayelet Leviev Jacobson, Ruthy Leviev Yelizerov and Hagit Sofiev Leviev, along with company LLD Diamonds USA, LLC, are on the list of plaintiffs.
Quoted from ANTARA, the lawsuit, which was filed in Tel Aviv, Israel, states that Simon "made false statements as the son of Lev Leviev and received many advantages (including material ones)," according to the lawsuit.
The document also states that Simon has deceived, faked and harmed women, men and businesses around the world by claiming to be members of the Leviev family and using their rich reputation for personal gain.
The family alleged that Simon had taken photos of Lev and Ayelet without permission and used Photoshop to edit himself into the family photo.
As per the lawsuit, "He presented the same photograph to a woman and a man as evidence of being a member of the Leviev family, thereby making a false statement that he was part of the family, and doing so for personal gain and misleading the public."
The charges in the lawsuit include defamation, invasion of privacy and trademark infringement. The Levievs said that Simon's disgraceful actions defamed and humiliated them.
According to the Netflix documentary, which premiered on February 2, Simon, 31, changed his name and claimed to be the son of a diamond tycoon on the dating app Tinder. He then allegedly tricked multiple women into opening credit cards for him, under the guise of him being in danger of an enemy in the diamond business.
Authorities estimate he may have swindled $10 million from alleged victims worldwide, according to The Times of Israel.
Simon has not been charged with any crimes related to the allegations in the documentary. The news outlet reported in May 2020, Simon was released from Israeli prison after serving five months of a 15-month sentence for four unrelated fraud charges.
Lawyer Guy Ophir, who represents the Levievs, said the legal action was only the beginning of a number of lawsuits.
"In the next phase we will file a monetary lawsuit against Simon and other affiliates he works with, including several websites that Simon has joint ventures with and/or have offered to purchase brilliant consulting from him," said Ophir.
"Anyone who tries to take advantage of this scheme will be prosecuted."
In response to the submission, a representative for Simon said, "Simon believes that the family was simply trying to insert themselves into the narrative for publicity following the success of the show."
"Simon also officially changed his name in 2015 and hopes this will be brought to justice," Simon's representative said.
In an interview with Inside Edition earlier this month, Simon defended himself against Netflix's accusations, saying he's just a single guy looking to meet some girls on Tinder.
"I was surprised how many girls wanted me and how many girls offered to travel to see me without them knowing I was. I'm not the monster all these people created," Simon said.
The alleged fraudster, currently dating Israeli model Kate Konlin and reportedly working on a dating show, with Gina Rodriguez signed on as her talent manager.
"I'm not a cheater and I'm not a faker. People don't know me so they can't judge me. I'm the biggest man in the world," said Simon.
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