‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev: A Gaslighting Narcissist

The convicted con-man manipulated and gaslit dozens of women to satiate an extravagant lifestyle he was too lazy to earn

According to the self-help book on Gaslighting by Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D., gaslighting is psychological manipulation used to control and influence one person or a group of people. It is a form of emotional abuse and deep manipulation, one that is slow and subtle. Over time though, it proves to be insidious.

It can start with love bombing. Love bombing is showering someone with praise, magnificent promises, undivided attention, and luxurious gifts at the beginning as a way to gain someone’s trust quickly. Once the perpetrator of love bombing feels they have won over the person, manipulation begins.

And, this is where Simon Leviev enters. A man who uses love-bombing as his secret weapon. The narcissistic, abusive star of Netflix’s ‘Tinder Swindler.’

Shimon Hayut’s Background

Simon Leviev’s real name is Shimon Hayut. He was nothing more than a petty thief from a middle-class background in Israel. The con artist started his criminal life by stealing cash, credit cards, and checks. In 2015, at the age of 25, he was arrested in Finland for defrauding several women out of thousands of dollars. In jail, instead of bettering himself and his life, he formed a solid plan of who he would be next and what he would do.

In 2017, he legally changed his name to Simon Leviev to match the surname of the Israeli diamond billionaire, Lev Leviev, otherwise known as the “King of Diamonds.” Simon Leviev would claim he was Lev Leviev’s son and therefore the “Prince of Diamonds.” Labeling oneself as the prince of diamonds without ever earning the name is a narcissist’s dream scenario.

Simon Leviev’s Tinder Swindling

Pathological liar Simon Leviev used Tinder to match with beautiful women across several European countries. He falsely branded himself as an immensely wealthy, Gucci-clad, jet-setting, diamond prince on Tinder. Not to mention he was a handsome man. Naturally, women were immediately magnetized to his profile like moths to a flame.

After matching with the women on Tinder, he would invite them to an upscale restaurant, pay for everything, and then invite them out on his private jet to meet his friends and his security team, and fly them out. They would then stay at a luxurious five-star hotel, spend a romantic night together. During their hotel stay, the women claimed he would open up to them, showing a deeply sensitive, vulnerable side. And, then he would fly them back the next morning.

Tinder Swindler’s Love Bombing

Once the women were back in their own place, Simon Leviev would shower them with tons of attention, affection, and roses. Every single one of these women believed they were special because of the private plane ride, his ability to open up to them on the first night together, and the consistent, constant attention they received afterward. This was the start of the Tinder Swindler’s manipulation process to reel them in by showing them a fun, glamorous life he could possibly provide.

Simon Leviev would then ask them to be his girlfriend instantly. Leviev would tell them he wanted marriage, children, and a life partner. Leviev would tell them everything he knew they wanted to hear. For the grand finale, he would ask them to move in together. By then, the women believed they were in a loving, exclusive relationship with the prince of diamonds.

It was a dazzling movie-like romance similar to the one between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in 50 Shades of Grey. The wealthy, lonely man who chose the humble, hard-working woman for a chance at real love.

When people ask, “How could they have fallen for this person?” The narcissist can be more charming than anyone else you ever met.

Simon Leviev’s Gaslighting

But, then this allegedly wealthy man started asking his women for money. Simon Leviev’s common, standard gaslighting lie was that he had enemies after him because the diamond business was an incredibly dangerous business. His credit cards were shut down so his enemies could not track him. He would gaslight and manipulate these women by sending photos and videos and voice recordings of evidence that they were attacked. It was the same ones he’d sent to every woman.

And, then he would request they take out loans anywhere from $10,000-$250,000 promising to pay them back. Of course, he never did.

Simon Leviev had been actively manipulating each woman and gaslighting them since day one. They were pawns in his selfish game. Leviev earned his name, the Tinder Swindler for the fact that he would swindle multiple women at once on the dating app Tinder.

According to Sarkis’ viral article, 11 Red Flags of Gaslighting in a Relationship, gaslighters tell blatant, outrageous lies and they throw in positive reinforcement to confuse you.

A pathological liar, Leviev actively lied from the beginning and entangled it with positive reinforcement and love-bombing to gain trust and confuse the women he was dating. Due to the manipulation happening slowly and masked by his eccentric charm, not one woman recognized what was happening until it was too late.

Gaslighting relationships are quick to intensity but slow to insanity.

When these women woke up to what he was doing and confronted him, he refused to admit he was lying and refused any responsibility in essentially stealing half a million dollars that these women never had. Leviev further gaslit these women calling them crazy, paranoid, and selfish for asking for their money back.

Leviev would never admit what he did. He can’t. He has a severely unstable, personality disorder. Most likely, Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Simon Leviev's / Shimon Hayut’s Personality Disorder

Gaslighters often have one of four Cluster B Personality Disorders:

• Histrionic Personality Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder

Simon Leviev has most of the common symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder found here:

• A grandiose sense of self-importance
• Habitually lie / Pathological Lying
• Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• The belief that one is special
• A sense of entitlement (to special treatment)
• Exploitation of others
• A lack of empathy

The Tinder Swindler is a Narcissist

Simon Leviev’s immense lack of empathy, his charm, and his knowledge of fraud, turned him into the perfect villain. Every villain has some narcissistic traits. Look at the Joker in Batman.

But, Simon Leviev is not some incredible mastermind. Not at all.

What separates the common liar and true gaslighting narcissists is the act itself, the purpose behind the act, and the awareness of it. There is a difference between those who lie out of cowardice and those who lie out of cruelty. A line between the fibber and the con artist. The largest trait in the latter is depravity and mental illness.

Simon Leviev — or petty thief Shimon Hayut — proves this difference by being nothing more than a mentally unstable failure who preys on women looking for love.

Simon Leviev is a gaslighting narcissist. A con artist with a severe narcissistic personality disorder and an expert in pathological lying.

The hardest work he’s ever done is defrauding and destroying the lives of innocent women who — unlike him — have actually worked for a living.

Is Simon Leviev an evil genius? Or an emotionally abusive narcissist? You decide.

Note: Despite his exposure, it has been reported the ‘Tinder Swindler’ is still actively on Tinder. That’s how deep his narcissism runs.