Dating apps come with a lot of risks and you have to be careful on who you try to meet in person. Things looked like they were going well for Norwegian masters student Cecilie Fjellhoy who lives in London.
Fjellhoy was on Tinder when she ran into a man who went by the name Simon Leviev. He lives in Bulgaria and claimed to be a millionaire as he referred to himself as the Prince of Diamonds. He ended up lying about his name as he’s actually 28-year-old Shimon Hyuat. He’s also a known Israeli con-man who served three years in a Finnish prison for stealing money form women to live the lifestyle he has. This has given him the notorious name “The Tinder Swindler.” Fjellhoy was flown to Bulgaria with him on a private jet but things fell apart fast when it came to getting scammed by him.
An ABC News report has stated that Fjellhoy fell victim to a “confidence fraud.” This was where Hyuat claimed that he was a target and needed money to stay safe anywhere he went. He even sent fake hospital photos to protect himself.
“Fjellhoy said Hyuat surrounded himself with people who helped perpetuate the myth, even going so far as to send photos of himself and his bodyguard in the hospital after they were allegedly “attacked.”
“One of the main reasons why he needed it was protection… he needed my name as a cover, he said,” Fjellhoy said to “Nightline.” “I know it sounds crazy… [but] why would he have this giant guy with him if he didn’t need the protection?”
Fjellhoy has weeks of texts where Hyuat claimed he’d pay her back but it just never happened. She ended up being suicidal. She’s since filed a police report with Metro Police in London. Hyuat is still not in jail. She lost $200,000 from his scamming.
Hyuat is still claiming that he’s innocent and this was just a deal that went wrong.
“There is nothing here just [a] loan between friends that went south… she agreed to loan me the money and then she disappeared… before we [were]able to pay back… they used me for my life they got expensive gifts and everything, In other words gold diggers, When I ask help they agreed to help and they know that I have some problems I didn’t run from no one it’s all fake news and lies.”
I doubt his defense will hold up and will get arrested for scamming Fjellhoy and other women. Flip the page to check out ABC News video of the scamming case.