'He impersonated our bother': Tinder Swindler faces Leviev family in court

Ruthy Leviev Yelizarov, daughter of businessman Lev Leviev, and her husband Ephraim Yelizarov testified recently at the trial of Simon Leviev, infamously known as the Tinder Swindler.

Ruthy and Ephraim filed a criminal complaint against Simon with their family members claiming that he damaged their reputation when Simon impersonated their brother.

The man who was born Shimon Yehuda Hayut rose to fame after a Netflix film described how Simon Leviev impersonated a son of the Leviev family and used this to commit fraud consistently. Simon Leviev arrived at the court accompanied by two unarmed security personnel. Throughout the hearing, Simon carried out the cross-examinations of the witnesses after choosing not to be represented by a lawyer. 

"It started on the family WhatsApp a few years ago," said Leviev Yelizarov in her testimony. "All kinds of questions started coming up about company checks that bounced. After that, my brother said that girls contacted him on Facebook and said that someone was impersonating his brother. Slowly, we started hearing more and more about this. We realized someone was walking around everywhere, claiming to be our brother. He's using the good reputation we've built over all these years to do things that aren't exactly in the line of the family." 

Leviev Yelizarov claimed that they later filed a complaint with the police but felt that nothing was done about it. "After hearing all of this, I was ready to be interviewed to say if anyone has any doubts, that we have nothing to do with this matter and he is not our brother. It is unpleasant and even insulting that sometimes I arrive at places and people ask me to show them an identity card to see that I am not a fraud. Bankers have asked me, 'What's the deal with your brother? The one who takes planes and yachts. Can't you get a hold of him?'" 

Simon Leviev asked her during the cross-examination: "You've been a famous family for years, right? In a simple Google search that appears About Mr. Lev Leviev, you can see that he doesn't have a son named Simon. If this is a well-known family and everyone knows them, then it shows up. So if you claim that you are being impersonated, then people should probably know with a simple Google search that you don't have a son or a brother."

Leviev Yelizarov replied, "What can we do if Simon Leviev has a lot of aliases and he introduces himself each time under a different name? I don't know if people Googled it; it's irrelevant."

Throughout the hearing, Judge Itai Hermelin recommended that Leviev hire a lawyer or choose to be represented by the Public Defender's Office. "There is a chance that if you had a lawyer, he would have had more questions to ask the witnesses."

Simon Leviev replied that he would take care of it.

The Leviev family suffered socially and financially at the hands of the Tinder Swindler

When Harmlin asked the Levievs how this damaged their businesses, they replied that in the diamond business, there is great value to their credibility as a family.Consequently, damage to their name can affect their finances. "In our industry, a deal is concluded after negotiations, with a handshake. I know him, he knows me or my name, and where I come from," explained Yelizarov, the son-in-law of businessman Lev Leviev, in his testimony.

"If someone stops paying, you stop receiving credit, people no longer sell to you... and word spread pretty fast. When someone reaches such a situation, it takes a long time to repair their reputation. You need to get signatures from people who will sign for you."

Yelizarov recalled when the "Simon Leviev" affair first came into his life. "I started hearing from people that my brother-in-law was going out with girls and not paying them back," Yelizarov said in his testimony.

"I felt very uncomfortable and I didn't understand where it came from. Our family is known to be trustworthy in the diamond industry. After that, a person from the aviation sector told me that my brother-in-law was taking airplanes and cars from him. He said it was Leviev's son from the diamond business and his name was Simon Leviev. The guy was poor, he was sobbing in my office and thought I would give him some of the money back. I told him that this is not true, and it is a fact that the entire testimony is very vague."

During the cross-examination, Simon Leviev asked Yelizarov: "Someone said 'Simon Leviev,' so obviously, if I flew on a plane, I should have flown under the name 'Simon Leviev.' In that case, I would have been stopped at the border crossing. It is a fact that I was stopped in Greece with a fake passport, and I would love to know if one of these names appeared on the flight chart."

He further stated, "I want to say that after I was released from prison, I gave an interview on prime time in which I clearly said that I have no connection to the Leviev family. So to say that I introduced myself [as a member of the family] and went out with girls? This is completely unfounded, and the opposite is true."

On behalf of attorney Guy Ofir, who represents the members of the Leviev family together with attorneys Uri Ben-David and Victoria Reznik, it was stated, "Today, the trial against the Tinder Swindler began. This procedure is because, in a just world, the Prosecutor's Office would be here to manage the case. In practice, things are not moving with them. Half of the Western world knows that Simon Leviev impersonated a member of the Leviev family. It is hardly something that should be questioned at all, but the police, and the prosecution, both in Israel and abroad, have not progressed to an indictment even though we have been dealing with this for several years.

"Simon Leviev continues to operate as before. His victims were interviewed by the media, and it turned out that there is little that can be done to stop him. I hope that we get a resounding conviction here that will lead to the arrest of this person, and I hope that the prosecution will wake up and do their jobs." 

Ephraim Yelizarov said at the end of the hearing, "After everyone has already forgotten this story, we hope that we will be able to prove his guilt and undo some of the damages that the victims suffered."