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Tinder Swindler victim defends asking for £600k donations to pay off debts

9 February 2022, 15:22 | Updated: 18 February 2022, 10:50

'Tinder Swindler' victim promotes GoFundMe on This Morning

Cecilie Fjellhoy appeared on This Morning to speak to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about the Tinder Swindler.

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Ever since Netflix dropped the new documentary The Tinder Swindler earlier this month, the whole nation has been talking about Simon Leviev.

The hit show tells the shocking story of how Simon - whose real name is Shimon Hayut - allegedly scammed multiple women out of millions of pounds.

Using the name ‘Simon Leviev’, he is said to have used Tinder to lure women in by taking them on expensive dates, before asking them to borrow credit cards and money.

Following the success of the documentary, one of Simon’s reported victims Cecilie Fjellhoy appeared on This Morning to talk about her experience.

Joining Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, Cecille said she lost over £200,000 and found herself checking into a psychiatric facility after finding out the truth.

And she's now set up a Go Fund Me page to help recover some of the money she lost, which stands at over £50,000.

After Phillip asked how she dealt with being ‘blamed’ for the crime, she replied: “It’s the victim blaming and shaming we wanted to talk about, fraud is the last crime where victims are still being blamed.

"I just don't get it, we're being called gold-diggers and greedy but I don't know how gold-diggers would give out over £200,000 to someone.

"I just tried to save someone, if people don't believe that, it's up to them."

Shimon Hayut went by the name of Simon Leviev. Picture: Instagram

Cecille also opened up about how it felt when she found out the truth about her boyfriend.

“When I realised I was the last string of three or four women, I felt cheated on at first," she said.

“You can’t comprehend he was never the loving boyfriend. When I blocked him I cried.”

Cecilie told her story on the Tinder Swindler alongside Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte, who also claim to have been cheated out of thousands of pounds.

She later said they all ‘hate’ him for what he did, admitting: “I think for all of us its the worse thing he’s still out there, we did this to protect others and get him behind bars.

“We have a very strong hate for him, but I pity him as well because he is a very empty soul. He has no friends, no family, no anything.”

Watch the trailer for The Tinder Swindler

In the documentary it was revealed that Hayut had fled Israel after being charged in 2011 with theft, forgery, and fraud.

In 2015 he'd also been convicted of defrauding three women in Finland and was sentenced to two years.

Hayut was later caught with a fake passport in Greece in 2019, before he was extradited to Israel and sentenced to 15 months in prison for theft, fraud, and forgery of documents.

He served five months before being released for 'good behaviour'.

Before deleting his Instagram account, Hayut spoke out about the claims against him.

He told followers: "I will share my side of the story in the next few days when I have sorted out the best and most respectful way to tell it, both to the involved parties and myself.

"Until then, please keep an open mind and heart."