Overview

• Georgia’s Interior Ministry said the 34-year-old was taken into custody on September 15 at Batumi airport following an Interpol request, while his lawyers reported having no details and expressed surprise.
• Operating as “Simon Leviev,” he allegedly posed as a diamond heir on dating apps, staged a luxury lifestyle, then asked women for large sums citing fabricated emergencies and security risks.
• Reports attribute roughly $10 million, about €8.5 million, in losses to victims across countries including Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
• He was convicted in Israel in 2019 of fraud, forgery, and theft after extradition from Greece, receiving a 15‑month sentence and serving about five months during the pandemic.
• The 2022 Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler amplified victims’ accounts and public scrutiny, while the real Leviev family pursued legal action over his alleged impersonation.