Cecilie Fjellhøy, who was central to Netflix’s 2022 hit documentary "The Tinder Swindler," returns to the streaming service Sept. 5 in a new series, Love Con Revenge, to help other people who say they were defrauded in romance scams. The six-episode series follows the cases of four men and one woman whose partners are accused of extracting money under false pretenses and pairs Fjellhøy with private investigator Brianne Joseph as they seek to illuminate patterns and pursue accountability.
Love Con Revenge was prompted in part by the public response to The Tinder Swindler, which chronicled Fjellhøy’s courtship with Simon Leviev and her claim that he took about $250,000 from her. After the 2022 documentary aired, people with similar experiences contacted Fjellhøy, and those exchanges helped shape the new series. Fjellhøy has publicly said she believes Leviev has not faced the prosecution she thinks his actions warranted; he served five months in prison in Israel for using a fake passport. The producers say the alleged perpetrators featured in Love Con Revenge received notice of the series and were invited to respond to the allegations.
Over six episodes, Fjellhøy and Joseph spotlight individual stories, tracing how relationships that began with romance and trust turned into financial loss. The series documents victims’ accounts of how money was requested and transferred, and it examines investigative steps taken to verify claims and track funds. The producers have framed the show as both an exposé of specific cases and an effort to let other victims know they are not alone.
Romance scams are a persistent and costly problem. According to the Federal Trade Commission, reported losses from romance fraud totaled about $1.14 billion in 2023. Law enforcement and consumer-protection agencies have repeatedly warned that the schemes can involve a mix of emotional manipulation, false identities and elaborate stories designed to extract money or assets from partners.
The new series arrives amid heightened public interest in the genre of true-crime and fraud documentaries, a trend that intensified following The Tinder Swindler’s global reach on Netflix. That film’s focus on Leviev’s alleged conduct and the subsequent attention from media and viewers helped prompt additional reporting and private legal efforts by some victims. Love Con Revenge adopts a more active stance, pairing a high-profile victim with a private investigator to pursue other alleged perpetrators and gather evidence that could feed civil or criminal inquiries.
Producers and on-screen participants say the series aims to amplify victims’ voices and clarify how these scams are carried out. The show avoids presenting its accounts as legal findings; instead, it documents victims’ experiences, investigators’ efforts and public records tied to the cases. The inclusion of invitations for the accused to respond is consistent with standard documentary practice, and producers have indicated those responses are part of the program’s record.
Netflix has not announced companion legal initiatives tied to the series, and details about any formal cooperation with law-enforcement agencies vary by case. The public response to earlier documentary treatments of romance fraud has included renewed calls for platform safeguards and more robust reporting mechanisms, though such policy discussions are separate from the narratives presented in Love Con Revenge.
Love Con Revenge premieres on Netflix Sept. 5. The series continues a conversation about how modern romance scams operate and the challenges victims face in seeking restitution and public acknowledgment of their claims.