The Tinder Swindler Says He’s ‘Not a Fraud’ in First Interview Post-Netflix Documentary

Simon Leviev says Netflix got his story all wrong. In his first interview since The Tinder Swindler dropped on February 2, Leviev is telling his side of the story.

“I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder,” Leviev (born Shimon Hayut) says in a sneak peek at his Inside Edition interview, which will be released in two parts on February 21 and February 22. “I am not a Tinder Swindler.”

For the interview, Leviev was joined by his “model girlfriend.” In a second clip shared by Entertainment Weekly, he claims Netflix presented The Tinder Swindler “as a documentary but in truth, it’s like a complete[ly] made-up movie.” He adds, “I am the biggest gentleman in the world. They call me the Tinder Swindler. I am not a fraud and I am not a fake. People don’t know me so they can’t judge me.”

In December 2019, Leviev was convicted of fraud, theft, and forgery and sentenced to 15 months in prison, though he was released after just five months. According to the extremely popular Netflix documentary, he used various aliases to scam women he met through the dating app out of an estimated $10 million. Victims say he conned them into loaning him thousands after lavishing them with expensive dates and gifts. 

Simon Leviev may be banned on Tinder, but he initially kept up a social media presence following the release of the Netflix hit. Just before deleting his Instagram account earlier this month, he asked his followers to “keep an open mind and heart.”

“I will share my side of the story in the next few days when I have sorted out the best and most respectful way to tell it, both to the involved parties and myself,” Leviev wrote, per Glamour U.K. “Until then, please keep an open mind and heart.”