'Distasteful' Tinder Swindler launches dating app after fraud sentence
Simon Leviev inspired Netflix documentary 'The Tinder Swindler' after allegedly stealing millions of pounds from his dates
A convicted fraudster who deceived dozens of women he met on Tinder has been branded "distasteful" after announcing the launch of his own dating app.
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Simon Leviev inspired Netflix's 2022 documentary 'The Tinder Swindler' after allegedly stealing millions of pounds from women he matched with on the dating app.
Leviev conned his victims by pretending to be a wealthy businessman.
He developed relationships with women he met on Tinder before allegedly stating he was in financial difficulty and asking for money.
In 2019 he was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being convicted of theft, fraud and forgery of documents.
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The 35-year-old - who has been banned from Tinder - was told many may find his dating app "really distasteful" and difficult to trust.
Speaking on ITV, Leviev replied that there were "authorities around the world that check everything that is right".
He even suggested that the allegations against him had made the app safer because he had been forced "to prove myself".
He said: "I have to create something so great, and obviously, it needs to be regulated, and I need to get approval."
An unapologetic Leviev even denied feeling any remorse or regret for his victims.
The 2022 documentary catapulted Leviev, who posed as a diamond tycoon, to global notoriety.
He is said to have told his dates he was the heir of Israeli diamond billionaire Lev Leviev, dazzling the women with private jets and expensive hotels before asking them for money.
In 2019 he was sentenced to 15 months in an Israeli jail, serving five months before being released for good behaviour.
He denied defrauding the women in a 2022 interview with CNN, claiming he was just a "single guy who wanted to meet some girls on Tinder," and attributed his wealth to Bitcoin he purchased early on in 2011.