TINDER Swindler Simon Leviev has been released from prison after making a plea deal.
The infamous fraudster, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, was able to walk free in Georgia after receiving a one-year suspended sentence.
As reported by the Mail, the scammer is now rid of arrest warrants and legal proceedings.
Hayut had only been in Kutaisi Penitentiary Establishment No 2 for two months since his arrest.
While locked up, the Tinder Swindler previously claimed he didn’t remember “conning women out of hundreds of thousands.”
Talking from his prison cell, the Israeli scammer said: “Under the circumstances, I believe I’m either being set up or there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”
Hayut was detained after an Interpol red notice was issued for crimes he allegedly committed in Germany.
The Tinder Swindler was accused of scamming a woman in Berlin out of £38,000 and was looking at 10 years behind bars if extradited.
But the 35-year-old is no longer facing jail time after Berlin decided not to pursue the case.
Hayut was represented by lawyers Sharon Nahari and Mariam Kublashvili, who confirmed “all other proceedings against him were closed”.
In a joint statement, the legal team wrote: “This is an important decision.
“The plea agreement is fair and appropriate, and we welcome our client’s release and the cancellation of all arrest warrants.
“In its ruling, the court explicitly determined that both the local arrest warrant and the European warrant are cancelled, and that all cases against him are closed.”
Shimon Yehuda Hayut, who went by Leviev, became the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary after he spent years luring women on dating app Tinder, while posing as an heir to the Leviev diamond fortune.
He told his victims he was the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev – but he has no relation to the family whatsoever.
He was arrested in 2019 in Greece then extradited to Israel where he served a 15-month sentence for fraud, forgery and theft.
Ten years on from being conned out of thousands, Mr Leviev’s victims remain traumatised.
While the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler brought their story to the world, the women he affected say the aftermath and the long road to recovery were far more difficult than anyone could have imagined.
“I’m still traumatised,” Cecilie, 36, told The Times.
Cecilie was conned into taking out nine loans totaling $250,000 (£190,000), and was hounded by creditors to the point where she contemplated suicide.
She eventually sought help at a psychiatric unit and has spent the last seven years in therapy.
She “never wanted to be on” antidepressants but explains that she “needed them.”
Pernilla, 38, also contemplated suicide after learning the truth about the man she once considered a friend.
She lost the $45,000 (£33,840) she had saved for a home deposit and then doubled that amount in legal fees when she tried to take her bank to court.
The pair have since released a book, Swindled Never After: How We Survived (and You Can Spot) a Relationship Scammer, deep dives into their traumatic journey in a bid to prevent others from falling for the same cruel tricks.
How to protect yourself from fraud
USE the following tips to protect yourself from fraudsters.
- Keep your social media accounts private – Think twice before you your share details – in particular your full date of birth, address and contacts details – all of this information can be useful to fraudsters.
- Deactivate and delete old social media profiles – Keep track of your digital footprint. If a profile was created 10 years ago, there may be personal information currently available for a fraudster to use that you’re are not aware of or you have forgotten about.
- Password protect your devices– Keep passwords complex by picking three random words, such as roverducklemon and add or split them with symbols, numbers and capitals.
- Install anti-virus software on your laptop and personal devices and keep it up to date – This will make it harder for fraudsters to access your data in the first place.
- Take care on public Wi-Fi– Fraudsters can hack or mimic them. If you’re using one, avoid accessing sensitive apps, such as mobile banking.
- Think about your offline information too – Always redirect your post when you move home and make sure your letter or mailbox is secure.
