Shimon Yehuda Hayut, the Israeli man who became widely known as the "Tinder Swindler," was detained by Georgian authorities on Sunday after landing at Batumi International Airport, Israeli media reported.
Walla, citing the lawyer, said the 35-year-old was taken into custody in the morning. Hayut's attorney told the outlet that neither the defence nor the family yet understands the grounds for the detention. "I spoke with him this morning after he was detained, but we don't yet understand the reason," the lawyer said, adding that Hayut "has been travelling freely around the world."
Hayut, who has used several aliases including Simon Leviev, became the subject of international attention after Netflix released the 2022 documentary "Tinder Swindler." The film presents allegations by multiple women that Hayut used dating apps to cultivate relationships, portray himself as the heir to a diamond fortune, and then solicit large sums of money from them under false pretences. The documentary and media accounts have said victims lost an estimated £7.4 million collectively.
Accusers in the documentary and subsequent reports say Hayut would arrange extravagant first dates, build trust and then claim urgent security or safety needs that required victims to obtain new credit lines or transfer funds in his name. Some victims described severe emotional and financial consequences. Hayut has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling himself a legitimate businessman and saying in past interviews that he made his fortune investing in Bitcoin.
Hayut has a criminal record in Israel. In 2019 he was convicted on four counts of fraud and sentenced to 15 months in prison, of which he served five months, and was ordered to pay compensation to victims and fines related to the use of a false passport. That conviction followed an arrest linked to a victim who reported him to Interpol after discovering he had used a fake passport while in Greece.
Israeli news outlets previously reported other controversies involving Hayut. In 2020 Channel 12 said he was accused of posing as a medical worker to receive a COVID-19 vaccination; health officials said at the time that the individual had been vaccinated after presenting himself as a paramedic. In 2024, the Jerusalem Post reported that a former acquaintance filed a civil suit alleging she lent Hayut more than 144,000 shekels in 2022 and was seeking 414,000 shekels. Members of the Leviev family have also lodged complaints saying his impersonation damaged their reputation.
Hayut has contested the portrayal in the Netflix film and other reporting. In interviews after the documentary's release, he called the film "a completely made-up movie" and said he was "not a fraud and I'm not a fake," asserting that he wanted to clear his name.
Georgian authorities had not publicly released details of the detention by midday Sunday, and it was not immediately clear whether prosecutors in Georgia planned to file charges. Israeli consular officials and Georgian law-enforcement spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hayut's detention adds a new chapter to a saga that has drawn international attention since allegations surfaced in the late 2010s and was amplified by the 2022 documentary. Any formal charges or legal actions stemming from the Batumi arrest have not been disclosed publicly, and it remains unclear whether the detention will lead to extradition requests, new criminal proceedings or other legal measures.