"The Tinder Swindler" | Simon Leviev Case Analysis 

I've tried to inculcate in my son and daughter that they should never feel "flattered" by the attention of anyone. If you're made to feel like someone "above" you is doing you some kind of favor by paying attention to you, it's time to walk away and reevaluate their motives at the very least.

You didn’t mention the possibility of Simon being a psychopath. Many of his characteristics like lack of empathy, no apparent conscience, being a con man, very charming, not learning from his mistakes

Without wanting to victim-blame, I don’t have any respect for people who are impressed by others posing with flashy items. When I see photos of guys in front of their cars on Tinder, I always swipe left. It’s such a red flag and they just seem so boring.

It’s messed up how the guy only served 5 months and the women are all in a crazy amount of debt because of this dude and now he’s back out there living his best life. Justice wasn’t served in this case at all

When I saw Cecilia went with him in his personal plane on the first date, it was just unbelievable to me that she never considered the possibility of being trafficked. Also they didn't see the fact that there were enemies after him as a warning to withdraw. Why would one go in a relation risking their basic safety?

I think the guts of the women profiled in the Netflix series is an interesting factor, as well. On the one hand they were gullible and easily swindled. On the other hand, these three all played a part in bringing him down in spite of his scary threats and their own gullibility.

I didn't understand why the second girl thought he was such a 'good friend'; from what was shown in the doc it just seems like they bounced around Europe partying together, and I kinda got the impression she helped him almost out of a sense of obligation for accepting his 'generosity'. Don't accept expensive gifts/experiences from ppl you barely know!

I remember reading his text messages too thinking: “how on earth could anyone fall for this clown?”

I have a male friend who fell for this type of swindler. He only gave his "boyfriend" about $10,000 so the guy could afford to move from across the country to be with my friend. Of course, when the guy never showed up, it became pretty obvious that there was a problem. Sadly, my friend got swindled a second time, although he figured it out much sooner and didn’t give the guy much money. I think there’s a psychological reason why people fall for these kinds of hustlers; my friend absolutely refused to see what the rest of us could see and he got very upset when several of us warned him about giving so much money to someone he barely knew.

I was quite judgemental before watching the Netflix show - how can these girls be so naive? But private jet on the first date!? Baby's mother vouching for him!? wow this guy is a scam but on a grand scale - not even sure I would have resisted when in my 20's.

‘...& keeps the money 😊...’an heir to a baby-sitting fortune’ ...😂😂😂 keep it coming, dear Doctor - your style is irresistible! 🙏🏻🦉🙏🏽

I've run into these dating site scammers before. Their conversations do tend to sound disjointed, they always seem to kind and gentle - until you refuse to give them money. One had the audacity to ask me to beg my dad for money for him. The smart ones just go away when their first attempts fail.

Although I feel for the victims and I understand that when people fall in love their rational thinking can go out the window, in this case the superficiality goes both ways. In the same way that he was extremely shallow, the victims were also shallow. Their motivation to connect with him was primarily based on his “wealth”. Maybe afterwards the feelings of love surfaced but that wasn’t the initial sentiment. This case prompts us to reflect on the motivation behind forming a relationship with someone. I think physical attraction is a strong point at first, but honestly, there are situations in which a very attractive person begins talking and all of sudden their attractiveness starts to fade due to their profound immaturity. Other times, a not so attractive person starts talking and eventually their attractiveness increase due to their kindness, intelligence and other factors. Obviously everyone is different, that’s just my opinion. Excellent review as usual Dr. Grande, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.❤️

This video was shocking. More shocking was that the Police did so little, leaving it up to the women involved. After Simon was busted, he did little time, and is back at it somewhere else! Like Bernie Madoff, he had zero conscience about the destruction that he left in his wake.

My Netflix "to do list" is becoming very lengthy thanks to you, Dr Grande. I am not mad about it. 😊

If he tells them he's worried about his safety, why paste your "wealth" all over the internet? I guess choosing a role where business trips are the norm would help with stringing so many people along. More stress and work than its worth. I'd have a heart attack thinking something would go wrong any minute 😬 I know he's being deceitful, but I can imagine American express still holding the women liable for any funds. They could argue that they weren't prudent enough. So many people use relationships to manipulate someone into bad financial decisions. Many don't say anything because they're ashamed and so people get away with it and their fraud gets hidden. It really ruins people's lives! Yeah, they accused him for personal reasons, you took their personal funds!

I understand this could've happened to anyone but how in the world do you lend money to someone you barely know, let alone in the $100k plus, and especially someone you've met online? There were so many obvious red flags. How could you've missed them? I'm sorry but this is something a gullible person would fall for.

Something you said, made me sit up, one of his victims noted, "Simon was a good listener"! That would flatter a woman. But with him he was studying his prey. What a creep.

The "rudimentary shallow partner selection criteria" of con artists seem identical to those in bachelor reality shows. I guess both have the same goal---enticing for economic gain. Thanks for the great analysis!

There are many predators in our world... and many people desperate enough to become their victims.

The best part of the doc was when he was asking the girl for the money for the high end clothing she said she'd sell for him. Really showed his true colors and how much of a psychopath he was.

Hi from Australia. Thank you for raising awareness. I've watched almost all of your videos. So empowering. I have had some highly intelligent and confident friends that have almost fallen for these scams. They can be very convincing.

"ooo look I matched with a handsome multi millionaire diamond heir! certainly can't be anything shady :D"

I really enjoyed this video. There are many shows whose purpose is to warn the lonely and the vulnerable but really are created to exploit the pain and humiliation of the victims. What I really like is that you not only analyzed the scammer but the women who were so easily taken in.. These aren’t stupid women but all logic flew out the window.

David Mamet's House of Games (1987) is intriguing. A psychiatrist falls for a charismatic con man. Despite her wealth and position, there's something missing in her life, and he taps into this. Great ending.

Funny that what attracted them to him was pictures of him posing with jets and sports cars. Because that’s exactly what turned me off when I was on tinder (there’s tons of guys with those photos). I rolled my eyes and thought “yuck!”. I saw them as wannabes, posers, fakes. I’ve met wealthy men on my line of work, and this isn’t something they do (take photos next to cars and jets to show to potential dates). But moreover, how much depth could I expect from a man who thinks his value is measured on things? It comes off as insecure, shallow and lacking personality. If he didn’t trust his own persona and brains were enough to charm someone, neither would I. I did meet my husband on tinder. He didn’t have any of those pictures on his profile. He doesn’t need any fancy cars nor jets. He is enough and beyond all on his own.

I think one of the reasons these women gave him their money, is because he had spent SO MUCH money on THEM! Its the perfect way of guilt tripping. Its like they felt responsible in a way to help him because they had been a part of his luxurious life and they took advantage of it in the good times. Now that he is in trouble they must pay back the debt they owe him. Plus the emotional involvement makes it seems like a good idea. I think anyone can get conned, you can't blame one person. What is surprising that he is walking free after committing so many felons. It's like the authorities don't even give a single shit. He traveled with a fake passports, that's 10 years of imprisonment!! And he got out in 5 months, this dude definitely has some connections, or he is just Satan posing as a human.

Simon didn't spend enough time in prison for his crimes. In the documentary Simon makes it look like they were attacked and Piotor aka Peter was just doing his job but what I think is that Pete mouthed off and got beat up by bouncers or maybe he was beat one on one but if you watch the documentary in the photos Pete looks like he got his bell rung which is reflected in the look in Pete's eyes. It's sad that his one girlfriend who owed 9 creditors was paying for that night that Pete got his butt beat. I'd love to see you do an Alien Lizards podcast on this documentary. That would be tremendous!

I think he was still scamming his last girlfriend Ayleen when he said he was living in a hostel, eating leftover mall food and desperate. The beard was probably grown to allude the police but I don't believe the rest of the sob story. He wanted to "out con" her one last time because he knew she got him and I think that's what flipped him out the most. He was outsmarted.

It's unfortunate that there are individuals completely susceptible to this. Some people have no barometer when dealing with fake people. I imagine these women where desperate enough to fall for the lies but not desperate enough just to date a guy that is honest but makes significantly less than what Simon purposed.

Really grateful for your summary of this case. I didn't want to take time to watch the Netflix feature (right now too into all the Spider-man films...a recently constructed archetype) but YT surfing has garnered several videos on this story. As I looked through the comments, no one mentions the Disney Love Complex aspect which is what actually stood out to me. Cecilie Fjellhoy talked about how she grew up on Disney films and to quote an article on this, "Something that struck me in the victim’s narration was how she kept talking about wanting a Disney love story, and you could see how that naivety still rimmed her eyes and coloured the lens she looked through things like love and romance. Tons of research has shown that there’s a psychosocial implication that Disney movies have on society, and women in particular in relation to romance, love and marriage. Garlen & Sandlin, 2017 highlight that Disney Princess movies manifests as an incitement to pursue an impossible ideal of romantic love, which keeps us attached to “compromised conditions of possibility” that limit female agency and obstruct social progress. While “Disney Princess tales” may appear as harmless entertainment, they include not-so-subtle instructions about how girls should interact with the world and with boys and men." I agree with several comments about how these women's values for ostentatious wealth and lifestyle had much to with their being so easily fooled (sorry ladies, but really...you have got to love Dr. Grande's assessment of Simon's command of language being on second grade level). Also, the whole ridiculous movie adventure aspect of a picture of a beaten bodyguard should have been a red flag but just added to the facade of romance and intrigue. Sorry, don't have a lot of sympathy for the victims here because, frankly, this video exposes how pathetic this Tinder Swindler really is. I don't think even P.T. Barnum would be impressed.

ppl always said the victims as idiots. but the actual idiots are the scammers. he still has the guts to say he would sue Netflix

Thank you so much Dr. Grande. I needed a professional insight on this case.

OMG, I feel so horrible for these victims ☹ Everyone who interacts with sociopaths suffers

He should try this s**t anywhere north of Watford in the UK, he would quickly wish that the police would take him into 'protective custody'😂😂😂.... I'm stunned no one has actually taken the law into their own hands.... I can't help but think that his enemies and the attack on his bodyguard were a genuine attempt of this coming from at least one victim of his psychological abuse / fraud.

Knowing a millionaire who is a good friend of mine, they don't show off on social media. Real millionaires doesn't show their wealth.

What is wrong with these people? Giving thousands to a stranger they just met? Flying around the world with someone they just met? Having sex with someone they just met? Where are their parents in all of this?

I just watched this documentary today, what nobody seems to mention, you can tell he obviously has no respect for women, look how his mother is living and doesn’t appear in great health, the money he’s blowing up the wall on being addicted to the rich lifestyle, just a portion of that would help his mother , she was found living in a grimy apartment! That tells you everything about him how he treats his mother! I knew a man once , hustled women in a similar way to fund his gambling addiction , the gambler had some class Simon didnt. I mean a trip in the private jet and seems to be straight to the hotel bedroom , money sure talks! All the hustle and nothing to show for it just a set of fake watches! Let’s hope the designer clothes she was flogging on eBay aren’t fake, they may have tripled in value after the Netflix documentary!

If a man has just dated a woman and is already asking her for money, that is definitely a red flag! Don't fall for it! Anyway, why would a "billionaire" be on tinder or any other dating site for that matter? You would think that he could find a potential mate at some expensive social event!

Thank you. One thing that is conveniently seem to have been left out is the motivation of most of the victims who fell for his scam. They were dazzeled by the appearance of money and wealth.

This was heartbreaking. I’ve never gotta scammed like this but I’ve met people with this kinda mindset. I’ve had a friend that got caught up in it. Just blows my mind how people can be this unapologetically evil.

When you talked about this guy having pictures of himself standing next to expensive cars and standing on boats, it made me laugh because it reminded me of an episode of Friends where Joey was standing by an expensive car because people would talk to him and be sociable with him when he's by the car.

Oh, my GOD!! How many Millions??? What??!!! That's Outrageous!!! I wouldn't give him $5.00!!

It's quite peculiar that he managed to change his name from Shimon Hayut to Simon Leviev. First, you cannot change your name to Cohen or Levi in Israel unless you can prove you belong to those clans. Second, even if he did belong to the Levi clan it's no coincidence that he picked up Leviev as his new name - there is a very well known family of Leviev Brothers in Israel who were diamond dealers and they are wanted in Israel for tax evasion and a number of other alleged crimes. They owed millions in taxes alone. He must have done it on purpose should any of his gold-digging girlfriends try to look him up. They would see $$$ in Leviev family and would imagine that the money was dirty - but that there was a lot of it!

I hate Simon for taking advantage of these nice young women at a vulnerable time in their lives. It really makes me sick the way this guy carried on. He should have got 15 years rather than 15 months.

He has now posted that due to his enemies and the netflix documentary, his bank accounts have been frozen and is asking for money. I am still laughing.

I was shocked and disgusted by Leviev's lack of empathy

No mention of him being a pure psychopath?

This is a great channel to listen to before bed. It's calming, soothing, and truly fascinating.

This is why my newly divorced friends are adverse to Internet dating. What a shame because there are some really great guys out there. I enjoy your videos and thank you.

Don't trust lies, they are not true

I just watched the Inventing Anna series and Netflix is pushing Tinder Swindler on me since. Thanks for this, Doc! Also can I just add that I had to laugh out loud on how bored you sounded at the "standing next to jet planes, standing on yachts" part? It's why I enjoy your content and keep coming back! 🖤

You passed a million subscribers, Dr. 👏👏👏 Congratulations 🎉🎊🎉❗️

I watched the film because of your episode and what stood out to me were those women wanting an experience, they called love, that just isn't realistic. It had to be special and it just only was because of all that money and pretence. They were so impressed by that, they didn't see that what love is concerned, there wasn't anything remarkeble exept some grandiose romantic gestures. Even those weren't all that original. Great analysis Dr. G. Such a good example of 'if anything seems to be too good to be true'? It prrobably is. 👍

Uh, is there anyone on Tinder who isn’t a swindler in some form? 😆

I have a strong feeling that we haven't seen the end of the story yet.

The documentary was mind-boggling

Well thought out con job. Endless loop. The beauty comes from the simplicity.

It's sad how little was done to him in the long run and that he is still able to get girlfriends after multiple convictions. The people in these comments blaming these women are pathetic. We've all been taken advantage of or used, maybe not financially, but to act like you've never been lied to or that you're too smart to have ever been used is nothing but faking a false sense of moral superiority in order to sound pretentious. Anyway, great video Dr. Grande! Thanks for always staying so up to date on these stories! I also would love to see you analyze the victims in this AND his current gf now. Why would she be with him after all of this??

Great video. I hope you have a headstart on Bad Vegan. I would love to hear your take on that, Dr. Grande.

Wow your tone is really calm. I can fall asleep listening to you. You should do a sleep audio recording and meditation tracks.

I think that the whole nature of social media is duplicitous. Regardless of whether your photo is really of you, or you have lied about how much money you make, the notion of Instagram, RU-vid personas, online dating presupposes a kind of invented being, or an invented descripton/ presentation of that being. Apparently this is fine because everyone is so important and busy these days that they cannot rely on chance and fate to bring them to the right place at the right time , so they are forced to live out their lives online especially meeting partners this way. Me I think this is weird. No one is that busy. We can always find what we need close by if we are a bit more open about maybe talking to a stranger in a shop, or a queue...oh yeah I forgot, we shop online...going to the gym ..no we have a gym at home...listen, the more you make, the more lonely you will be. Go and sit somewhere and love will find you, in my opinion.

I don't understand why these women did not go to jail for fraud as well. They used fake paystubs to increase their credit, know the stubs were not real. That's fraud in America, they are just as guilty.

he needs to be permanently locked up. defrauding and wreaking emotional / havoc on others is simply unacceptable. he's behavior is vile

Lessons we never learn when it comes to weaknesses and vulnerability but its still good to have some information and awareness campaign to warn people and those closer around us to be more open to possibilities such as these crimes. Thanks Doc for this.

This guy is a textbook example of psychopath! All 3 features and more!!! Criminal - hope his Karma will take care of this guy - ridiculous that he is still out there - free after what he did!!! This man is SICK!

His father supposedly was a wealthy diamond dealer and Simon was also a real gem. A literal Diamond in the Rough.

Dr. Grande - I just came across this con artist, Shimon. To my delight, I found and really appreciated your analysis, especially since I do not subscribe to Netflix. 👍💜🌵

I can’t get past the clown shoes and those thick glasses! And the rap sheet! I’m just so happy he thinks he’s worth all that becuz he’s not! Self- entitled? Maybe just a tad! He has no shame and quite the nerve to take advantage of people like that sounds like a narc! To take and give little if anything in return! Narc only love in the sense of what that person can provide for them! Completely self- absorbed! It’s all about self- preservation!!They have no loyalty !

Thank you Dr. for helping to expose this creep to some potential victims.

The world has always had people who will relentlessly take advantage of others who are desperate for love and attention. We cannot rid society of these types of people, but we can educate ourselves so that we don't fall for their antics.

Tinder is gross. People on Tinder deserve to be fooled.

Sometimes, if you go digging for gold, your claim turns out to be a bust. Maybe you find nothing. Maybe it's lead or pyrite. Or maybe you get killed in a shaft collapse. Point is, gold digging is a risky endeavor. These ladies didn't deserve to be defrauded, but they did everything to put themselves in that position.

I would love to hear an analysis of his targets. How he chose them, and what made them susceptible to his manipulations.

Watched last night. Well made documentary. I am baffled how he got away with everything.

It's an absolute shame that he was able to be released. I checked out his insta and people are drooling over him. Disgusting.

This guy Simon reminds of Don Johnson's character in the movie Guilty as Sin. He played this hustler that scammed rich women. This woman at a bar asked him what he did for a living. He said" I don't work. Woman take care of me." She said "Can I buy you a drink?" He says "No. I already have one. You can pay for it." and then he says to the bartender "This one's on her." and walks away.

Do one on the guy from the Netflix documentary “the puppet master”!!

Hi dr Grande! I really enjoy your channel and the width of the people and subjects you analyze. I would love to see a episode on Bill Hicks and his, sadly too short, life.

He is creative, charming, well organized and dangerous. He is not the only man doing this on a huge scale. We'll see how things play out with his current girlfriend.

I believe some of the woman should have seen who he really was.

"Babysitting fortune" 😆😅🤣😂.. Thnx Doc 👊

Who is sick? The perp or the victim? Maybe the question is who is sicker the perp or the victim?

You are just so funny!! And very insightful as well ❤️

A couple of red flags off the bat, 1. An eligible, billionaire bachelor on Tinder? At that level, you'd be looking to narrow your field of potential mates, not expand it. 2. He presented himself as a poor man's idea of a rich man. Private jet, luxury cars, designer clothes. Most wealthy people don't live that way, and if they do, they generally don't want a bunch of gold-diggers sniffing around.

Never trust a man that wears leather shoes and no socks.

My husband drives a Toyota forerunner and you'll probably never get him out of it. Has a Casio watch. And I'm pretty sure we're gonna be comfortable for the rest of our lives. Things aren't always about what you see. These poor women .

His last name (the one he CHOSE for himself, because it's the last name of real millioner in the diamonds field) should be pronounced LehVaYev. His real last name is KhaYoot.

First red flag the photoshopped family picture Second, his email for the hotel and flight reservations had nothing to do with that company

Wow...loneness can create so much sadness.....it even makes me sad for them....

Still don’t get how he didn’t get more time... And he was also making fake documents with the LLC Diamond thing and the credit card companies are the ones the extended the credit. So I don’t get how they didn’t catch on to that?

Wow, he managed to get so injured that he was bleeding out of his face but not so injured that there was bruising around the "wound". What did they get him with a laser scalpel?

I would assume someone with money should have other means of obtaining it other than asking these women. This isn't table conversation. A lot of these stories and I believe the duped party want a relationship do bad and fall for the fantasy and ignore some obvious flags, which is going online in the first place is one of them.

The best and healthiest relationships are ones that develop over time. It is a huge red flag when someone wants ‘anything’ right away - money, to move in, even sex.

All of it is frightening, I feel terrible for these women, obviously kind-hearted people in a vulnerable place in life. To begin with, any man who is asking his new girlfriend to protect him is a srewball right there-half a man to ask in the first place. But then he needs your protection from thugs too? Ladies, please run! What of your personal safety? Yeah the story line was a scam, but even believing it’s true RUN FAST.

We really need some research into what draws otherwise sensible women into the webs of guys like this. It’s not the “ bad boy” phenomenon It seems to be some overwhelming need that destroys reason. Fortunately these women came to their senses. Many do not.

Thank you for your analysis I couldn’t agree with you more with your observations I do feel like to a certain degree and this even comes out in the Netflix coverage of it the women involved were in love with a fantasy rather than in love with him he just happened to fit the image in their head it would be interesting to see your take on some of the other scammers or prominent scammers that are out there a such as Anna Delvy

2 seconds into the description of the man (his name, and his country or origin), and the warning sirens went off in my head. Even a cursory reading of history would tell a european to be cautious.

Can you do a video on the women he conned ?!

I just ended a 16 year relationship with my narcissistic ex. He took everything I had, ( I even ended up paying thousands for higher purchase electronic & whitegoids that I didn't even have!) We both bonded over our traumatic childhoods. Trauma bonding is absolutely awful. Even if you see 15 years of red flags, your stupid " ride or die " mentality takes over instantly. I only left , because his abuse of me was affecting our son, to the point of us both sitting in the basement, crying together , for a whole year straight. The awful breakup, my desperate overdose, he saw it all, & the after affect is, that my poor son has now got alot of narcissistic tendencies . He's 16, and he treats every girlfriend he has like shit eventually, and ' discards ' her, after taking her virginity. It makes me feel mad, sad, guilty, and stupid, all in one go. It's been a year and a half since I got out. I haven't been able to date anyone seriously but, I have got a girlfriend now ,( yes, I turned lesbian ), it's in the very early stages, but she's one of the gd ones lol My ex, well, he's onto his 4th 'engagemen't! She's exactly half his age . And the best way to determine the future, is to look at the past. Poor girl. But I stopped warning them a long time ago tho. They have to find out he's all empty promises & lies for themselves, unfortunately. In the last year and a half tho, I've re- found myself , my self esteem , self worth, everything that he buried alive , all those years ago. But he just couldn't break me , like the others, and the things he resorted to, well, ppl say i shld write a book !!!! Idk, it was so bad, my ptsd would probably eat me alive! Ah...ptsd.. the only thing he ever gave me that he didn't take back...