The Tinder Swindler: Shimon Hayut, who also goes by Simon Leviev, is banned from the dating apps

After the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, which premiered on the platform on February 2, noted that its central character Simon Leviev aka Shimon Hayut, was still using the dating service, a Tinder spokesperson opened up about the user. The spokesperson has recently said that the user has been banned by the dating service. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Tinder spokesperson has confirmed that they have banned Simon Leviev, who also goes by Shimon Hayut, from Tinder and other Match Group Inc. dating sites. The spokesperson told the portal, "In the lead-up to the release of the documentary, we conducted additional internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is not active on Tinder under any of his known aliases.” Hence, Simon cannot use Tinder or other dating services, owned by its parent company Match Group Inc. The dating services owned by it include Match.com, OkCupid, Hinge, and PlentyOfFish. 

The Tinder Swindler, directed by Don’t F**k With Cats producer Felicity Morris, narrates the ordeal of several women who met Hayut on Tinder and got into relationships with him. Simon allegedly gave them the impression that he is the son of Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev. He later would claim that he was in danger, and allegedly ask the date for money to help him out. The documentary includes several interviews of victims and narrates how they get together to help bring his downfall. Simon has reportedly faced several charges in Israel and been convicted and sentenced to jail in Finland, much before the events portrayed in the film.

It is said that the filmmakers of The Tinder Swindler reached out to Simon and wanted him to appear in the film but he refused and sent them voice notes denying the claims, made by women and said that he would file a lawsuit for 'defamation and lies'. Earlier, according to Variety, Simon had claimed that he would present his side of the story via his Instagram account, but later, the account was found to be deactivated. There are many Instagram accounts that exist in the names of Hayut and Leviev, but there is no certainty if they belong to him.