The man at the centre of Netflix series The Tinder Swindler has denied that he is a “fraud”.
Netflix’s latest true-crime hit follows a group of women who attempt to track down a dating app user who tricked them out of millions of dollars.
The series estimates that Shimon Hayut (known to his victims as Simon Leviev) stole $10m (£7.4m) over the years after luring his victims with expensive dates in order to gain their trust.
Hayut went on to serve just five months of his 15-month prison sentence. He deleted his social media after the series dropped on Netflix on Wednesday (2 February).
However, on Monday (7 February), Hayut returned to Instagram where he posted a defence of himself and criticised the women he scammed.
“If I was a fraud why would I act on Netflix I mean they should have arrested me when we were still shooting [sic],” Hayut wrote on Instagram Stories.
“It’s high time the ladies start saying the truth. If you can’t give them world they’ll turn yours to hell [sic].”
Hayut then wrote that he would be “addressing the whole world” on Friday (11 February), posting: “Say my name #SimonTruth.”
On the show, Hayut was said to have sent pictures of his friend Peter (his supposed bodyguard) with head wounds to all his victims. He told the women that his “enemies” had found them, using the “attack” as a way to get them to send him more money.
However, on Instagram Stories Hayut wrote: “Peter is okay. Thanks everyone who’s asking [on] both inbox and timeline.”
The Tinder Swindler is available to stream on Netflix now.
