Many watched the new Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler and saw it as a cautionary tale, but the film’s subject is hoping for redemption. Shimon Hayut, a convicted Israeli fraudster who used Tinder to scam women in Europe out of millions of dollars legally changed his name to Simon Leviev, claiming he was the son of a wealthy diamond magnate. The documentary details his crimes and all of the women he stole from In the process, but Leviev wants to capitalize on his social relevance into a new endeavor: a dating show.
TMZ reports that Leviev has signed with Los Angeles talent manager Gina Rodriguez, who specializes in representing reality stars like Mama June. According to the tabloid, “they’ve already discussed a bunch of plans to parlay his newfound Netflix fame into profit and an entertainment career.” Despite his notoriety, Leviev wants to do a “dating show [that] includes women competing for his love … and he’s interested in sharing dating dos and don’ts on a potential podcast.”
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In the wake of his 2019 conviction, Leviev has been banned from all dating apps. After the release of the Netflix series, Leviev also deleted his Instagram account. However, he seems to be on TikTik with the account simon_leviev_official, where he posted a video claiming that this was his only social media presence.
The Tinder Swindler debuted on Netflix on Feb. 2 and quickly jumped to the Top 10 in the U.S. and the U.K. The documentary is produced by Raw TV, the same team behind Three Identical Strangers and the Felicity Morris-directed Don’t F*** With Cats, AGC Studios, and Gaspin Media. Bernadette Higgins was the producer on The Tinder Swindler, alongside executive producers Bart Layton and Sam Starbuck for Raw TV; Jeff Gaspin and Eric Levy for Gaspin Media; and Stuart Ford and Lourdes Diaz for AGC Studios.
The show was so wildly popular that Netflix reportedly has a film adaptation in the works as well. Netflix is in talks with producers about dramatizing Leviev’s crimes, sources told Variety back on Feb. 4. Sources said the talks are in the very early stages as Netflix decides what the tone of a movie about Leviev should be. Netflix did not comment on the report.
