‘Tinder Swindler’ said to be in new relationship with British model

Shimon Hayut

Israeli fraudster Shimon Hayut, known as the “The Tinder Swindler” following a popular Netflix true-crime documentary this year by that name that documented his alleged systematic defrauding of romantic partners, is said to be in a new relationship with a British model.

Israel’s Channel 12 news published photos of Hayut, 31, and his new partner, identified by the network as an unnamed 21-year-old British model who visits Israel frequently as part of her modeling career.

“It’s a new relationship in a very challenging period of time in my life. We’ll see where it leads,” Hayut told the network.

Social media speculation on the matter emerged on Saturday evening, when a photo was uploaded to Hayut’s apparent Facebook account, showing him next to a woman on an unknown beach alongside the caption: “My Baby girl.”

But according to Channel 12, that photo was taken in 2018 and the woman who appears in it is actually a friend of Hayut’s rather than his romantic partner.

Contacting Hayut for a comment, the fraudster disclosed his relationship with the British model, without providing many details.

Hayut’s previous girlfriend, Israeli model Kate Konlin, defended him in an interview with Inside Edition in February, referring to the documentary about him and its accusations as “a fake story.”

But the relationship did not last, apparently, and the two went their separate ways in April. In July, however, the story took another turn when it was reported that Hayut had filed a complaint against Konlin, claiming she extorted and assaulted him.

Hayut argued that his ex-girlfriend had cooperated with hackers who gained access to sensitive information about him after hacking into his phone.

Konlin claimed that Hayut’s complaint against her was retaliation after she had requested a restraining order against him a few days earlier.

Hayut, now known to be the son of the El Al airline’s chief rabbi Yohanan Hayut, was the center of a nearly two-hour documentary directed by Felicity Morris that told the story of several women whose hearts and wallets were captured by Hayut. The conman presented himself as Simon Leviev, son of Israeli Russian diamond tycoon Lev Leviev.

Hayut would meet Scandinavian women on Tinder, lead them to believe he was the son of the fabulously wealthy Leviev and begin long-distance relationships with them, eventually bilking them out of large sums of money.

The events of the film end prior to Hayut’s sentencing and trial, as he was returned to Israel in 2017 to be recharged and sentenced, but assumed a different identity and fled the country.

Israel declared him a fugitive, and he was eventually extradited back to Israel in 2019, convicted, and sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was released after five months. He had previously served two and a half years in a Finnish prison after being found guilty of defrauding three women.

In April, it was reported that Hayut was wanted in Spain for a 2019 incident in which he allegedly presented a falsified Israeli driver’s license to police.