Simon Leviev says he's not a 'Tinder Swindler' in first interview since premiere of Netflix documentary

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Simon Leviev says he's not a 'Tinder Swindler' in first interview since premiere of Netflix documentary
Picture taken on July 1, 2019 shows the so-called "Tinder Swindler" (L) as he is expelled from the city of Athens, Greece.Getty Images/AFP/TORE KRISTIANSEN
  • Inside Edition will air an interview with "The Tinder Swindler" subject Shimon Hayut on February 21 and 22.
  • Hayut, who goes by Simon Leviev, said in an interview clip that he's not the "Tinder Swindler."
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The subject of Netflix's "The Tinder Swindler" denies the claims made against him during an exclusive interview with Insider Edition that's scheduled to air on February 21 and 22.

Shimon Hayut, who went by the alias Simon Leviev, gave his first interview since the Netflix documentary began streaming on February 2. "The Tinder Swindler" follows a group of women who say they were tricked out of millions of dollars by Hayut, who is accused of posing as the son of a diamond mogul named Lev Leviev.

"I was just a single guy who wanted to meet some girls on Tinder," Hayut says in the clip. He is joined in the interview by his rumored girlfriend, who Cosmopolitan identified as Israeli model Kate Konlin.

Representatives for Hayut declined to comment. Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The interview comes after Hayut pushed back against the claims made in the documentary. As previously reported by Insider's Yasmin Garaad, Hayut said, "It's high time the ladies start saying the truth" and "If you can't give them world they want they'll turn yours to hell" in an Instagram story prior to the removal of his account.

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Hayut also recently joined Cameo, where he's currently charging $299 for a personalized video and $1,999 for a video for business use. Insider's Yasmin Garaad previously reported that he was charging $200 for a personal video and $1,400 for a business video. It's unclear what caused the price increase.

A spokesperson for Cameo previously told Insider that the company "does not endorse the beliefs or opinions of the talent or fans who use our platform" after receiving backlash for featuring Hayut on its "new and noteworthy" roster.

Accusers Pernilla Sjoholm and Cecilie Fjellhøy joined "The Tindler Swindler" director Felicity Morris on the "Tamron Hall" show on Thursday in a virtual appearance. Sjoholm said on the show that she was "heartbroken" to see any company "collaborate with a criminal."

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