'Tinder Swindler' Nabbed After Years on the Lam

The man featured on Netflix's The Tinder Swindler, accused of conning women out of millions of dollars, has been arrested in the country of Georgia after years on the run. Shimon Hayut, an Israeli national who gained notoriety for allegedly scamming women he met online, was detained at the request of German authorities over allegations he defrauded a woman in Berlin, according to his lawyer, Sagiv Rotenberg. He says Hayut was arrested at Batumi International Airport on Sunday after several hours of questioning, per the New York Times. German prosecutors say Hayut stole more than $50,000 from the Berlin woman between 2017 and 2019 and racked up significant expenses using a credit card and phone contract in her name.

The allegations mirror those featured in the Netflix documentary, with the prosecutors alleging the woman paid another $10,000 or so for travel for Hayut after he claimed his own credit card was blocked. Hayut—who has operated under at least five different aliases, including Simon Leviev—was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 15 months in prison in Israel for fraud, but he served just five months. An Israeli TV station estimated that his schemes netted him about $10 million from 2017 to 2019, showcased through lavish displays of wealth designed to dazzle his victims. Now, a Georgian court has ordered him held for up to three months while Germany's extradition request is processed.

Hayut's lawyer is appealing the detention and seeking to have the German case dismissed, noting his client hasn't been formally charged there. Rotenberg also claims Hayut is being kept "in extremely harsh conditions of detention without proper nutrition" and questions why Germany didn't pursue extradition directly from Israel, per the Times. Meanwhile, Hayut's victims are celebrating. "I'm allowed to feel happy, because this guy destroyed my life," Pernilla Sjoholm told AFP, per the Times of Israel. Cecilie Fjellhoy said she was angered that it took so long to find and arrest Hayut, but now "I know that I am being protected. I know future victims are being protected."