32. The Match (Simon Leviev)

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Speaker 1 on any new system.

Speaker 2 I want our love to flourish with unrequited fire and passion while we're apart.

Speaker 2 I yearn to look into your eyes the way that lovers do, and hear you whisper,

Speaker 2 I love you.

Speaker 4 In early 2012, a 54-year-old social worker, grandmother, and mother of four named Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto began communicating online with a member of the United States Special Forces named Captain Daniel Smith.

Speaker 11 Maria at the time was living in Sydney, Australia with her husband in a marriage that had grown, as Maria described, quote, a bit sour in recent years.

Speaker 8 Along comes Captain Smith.

Speaker 14 A man who made her feel loved and wanted.

Speaker 15 A man who sent her love letters and poems.

Speaker 13 A man who was interested in her life and actually listened to what she had to say.

Speaker 18 Maria said that Captain Smith would even call her up to five times a day just to sing love songs to her.

Speaker 5 The two had been chatting and exchanging photos online daily for over a year, when in September 2013, their relationship took a serious turn.

Speaker 7 Maria received a message from Captain Smith that read, quote, I have searched my heart and find out that you are not happy in your married life.

Speaker 12 Therefore, I want to ask your hand in marriage.

Speaker 5 Maria couldn't believe it.

Speaker 24 Yes, of course.

Speaker 23 Of course, Maria would marry this man.

Speaker 25 And she was willing to divorce her husband and meet Captain Daniel Smith anywhere in the world.

Speaker 20 And Maria told him as much.

Speaker 18 After all, life is short.

Speaker 12 Maria deserved to be happy, too.

Speaker 15 The following day, Captain Smith replied, quote, Thank you, my love, for your answer.

Speaker 8 I am so happy, my love.

Speaker 20 I will love and cherish you like no other man.

Speaker 7 When are you going out, honey?

Speaker 13 What about the Western Union?

Speaker 16 When are you going to send the money?

Speaker 7 Oh yeah, the money.

Speaker 20 Every now and then, in between serenades and sweet nothings, Captain Smith would ask Maria to loan him a few bucks for whatever reason, and Maria would happily oblige.

Speaker 13 Anything to help her future husband.

Speaker 20 Maria would ask her son Napoleon to help her wire the cash.

Speaker 3 Over time, those little transfers had amounted to more than $18,000.

Speaker 12 Almost every penny Maria had.

Speaker 20 Napoleon wasn't surprised that his mother would empty out her pockets to help a friend.

Speaker 21 That's just the kind of person she was.

Speaker 3 But, he wondered, who could she possibly know in West Africa?

Speaker 22 In December 2014, after almost two years of correspondence, Captain Smith asked Maria if she would travel to Shanghai, China to meet one of his colleagues so that she could sign his retirement papers from the Army.

Speaker 12 The sooner that Captain Smith retired, the sooner he and Maria could spend the rest of their lives together.

Speaker 18 Maria packed her bags and flew to China without hesitation.

Speaker 10 In Shanghai, Maria met with a colleague, signed the papers, and was handed a black backpack that belonged to Captain Smith.

Speaker 3 Maria was told that it contained her future husband's clothes and that it needed to be delivered to Melbourne as soon as possible.

Speaker 12 So with the backpack in tow, Maria boarded a return flight to Australia that included a layover in Malaysia where she was supposed to switch planes to make her connecting flight.

Speaker 15 Maria exposto wasn't the most seasoned traveler, and it doesn't take much to get lost in an airport, especially one on foreign soil.

Speaker 21 When she landed in Malaysia, instead of remaining in the terminal and locating the gate for a connection, Maria followed the other passengers through customs and immigration, ultimately exiting the airport as if Malaysia was her final destination.

Speaker 22 When it was her turn in line, Maria voluntarily handed her carry-on luggage to the security agent to be inspected by an X-ray machine.

Speaker 15 Maria's first bag was scanned and passed through with no problem.

Speaker 10 Her second bag, however, the black backpack that belonged to Captain Daniel Smith, was flacked for a manual search.

Speaker 27 Security agents noticed that under the X-ray, the backpack seemed to contain some kind of green substance.

Speaker 19 Under closer inspection, the inside of the bag contained nothing but clothes as promised, but agents noticed that there was a crude stitching of pink and brown thread on the back.

Speaker 12 The stitching was removed to reveal a secret compartment sewn into the lining.

Speaker 17 Inside of that secret compartment was two gray packages. Gray packages that contained over a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine.

Speaker 3 Maria Exposto was arrested arrested on the spot for drug trafficking.

Speaker 3 How are you, Maria? Carrie, you're talking to Australia's face.

Speaker 37 Maria, why are you covering yourself?

Speaker 38 Maria, why are you covering yourself?

Speaker 39 Maria, do you have a message for your four sons?

Speaker 39 Maria.

Speaker 12 Anyone that has ever met Maria knows that she had no idea what was in that backpack.

Speaker 15 That search in Malaysia was the first time Maria Exposto had ever seen drugs in real life.

Speaker 41 Her sons recalled their mother threatening to kill them herself if she ever found out that they had been using.

Speaker 23 Maria Exposto had been set up.

Speaker 15 She had been used as an unsuspecting drug mule.

Speaker 20 Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Captain Daniel Smith was never made aware that Maria had been arrested because Captain Daniel Smith never existed.

Speaker 42 Yes, she is.

Speaker 42 She was a victim from this internet romance scheme. Who she thought she was was corresponding with was not actually the person that she says, Dan Smith.
That's based on our investigation.

Speaker 22 Based on their own investigation, Maria's defense attorneys concluded that in reality, Captain Daniel Smith was probably a gang of thieves in West Africa who had manipulated a vulnerable woman.

Speaker 20 The photographs of the handsome American military captain that had been used to fool Maria were actually photos of a British naval officer.

Speaker 15 And that voice she heard serenading her over the phone belonged to a faceless criminal in Ghana.

Speaker 17 Maria had been scammed.

Speaker 45 But luckily, after spending three years in prison waiting for her trial, Maria's defense team was able to prove in court that she was a victim.

Speaker 46 The court believed the testimony of Maria

Speaker 46 in that she was an innocent carrier. She was tricked into carrying the bag because of what we now call the internet scam.

Speaker 46 The internet romance.

Speaker 10 Maria Exposto was found not guilty of drug trafficking in December 2017.

Speaker 16 After her acquittal, Maria was taken into custody by immigration officials who were planning to deport her back to Australia.

Speaker 42 The friends who supported me for the years

Speaker 47 to my family and wish them at home.

Speaker 49 Happy Christmas and Happy New Year.

Speaker 47 How do you feel?

Speaker 47 I am.

Speaker 38 How do you feel, Maria?

Speaker 37 Did you just couple with?

Speaker 50 I'm happy now that I'm happy.

Speaker 39 Finally, you get to go home to Australia.

Speaker 48 Yes. It's been a horrible three years for you.

Speaker 39 Maria, did you always know that you would be inquisitive?

Speaker 37 Did you always hope that you would be?

Speaker 38 I'm innocent.

Speaker 24 But before Maria could be deported, the prosecutors appealed the judge's decision, which meant that Maria would have to to remain in Malaysia until their appeal was heard.

Speaker 22 And she had to remain behind bars because she could not afford to pay the bill.

Speaker 3 Almost six months later, on May 24th, 2018, Maria Exposto's case was reviewed by a panel of three judges.

Speaker 51 Today, the judges in the appeal handed down their decision, and it was a shock for everybody.

Speaker 51 They found her guilty as convicted, and they said in their judgment, the only sentence under law was death by hanging.

Speaker 5 Death by hanging.

Speaker 10 Under Malaysia's draconian drug laws, execution is the mandatory sentence for anyone found to be in possession of more than 50 grams of any controlled substance.

Speaker 29 It's a law in which Malaysia has historically and strictly upheld.

Speaker 52 Since 1960, Malaysia has hanged more than 400 drug offenders.

Speaker 23 In fact, Maria Ex Bosto would not even be the first Australian to be hanged.

Speaker 22 In 1986, Malaysia executed two Australian nationals for smuggling heroin across its border.

Speaker 28 Another Australian was hanged for the same thing in 1993.

Speaker 12 Maria Exposto had followed her heart straight into the executioner's gallows.

Speaker 22 She's currently on death row in Malaysia where she could be waiting on Judgment Day for a long time.

Speaker 10 A former Malaysian executioner told the Daily Mail that he's seen some inmates wait up to 11 years in prison before they are put to death.

Speaker 25 And he described what Maria can expect when that day finally comes.

Speaker 15 Maria will be given a 24-hour notice that she is now living her last day on Earth.

Speaker 12 She will be awakened at dawn if she sleeps at all and led down a long hallway.

Speaker 5 The only things she will hear are her own footsteps.

Speaker 16 The rest of the prisoner will be eerily silent with prayers.

Speaker 23 Maria will ascend the steps.

Speaker 29 She might make eye contact with her family if they decide to accept the invitation to watch.

Speaker 22 The noose will be placed around her neck and tightened, and the trapdoor beneath her feet will disappear, fade to black.

Speaker 12 And for what?

Speaker 5 For making a mistake while blinded by love.

Speaker 21 Maria Exposto is appealing her death sentence, and not all hope is lost.

Speaker 5 In recent years, Malaysia has shown an effort to move past the barbaric laws of its past, although there is seemingly insurmountable opposition from those that think just because laws are written on old paper with old ink that they are unadaptable and sacred.

Speaker 7 So for now, it is unclear what will happen to Maria Exposto.

Speaker 55 There is one other chance for Maria Exposto. The Home Minister with Malaysia's new government wants to get rid of the death penalty.
If her appeal fails, then the death penalty is repealed.

Speaker 55 All she'll face is a very long time in prison.

Speaker 25 Not counting physical or sexual violence.

Speaker 22 What happened to Maria has to be one of the worst case scenarios imaginable when it comes to an online romance gone bad.

Speaker 22 But even then, her situation isn't entirely unique.

Speaker 43 Another Australian, 64-year-old John Warwick, died in a Chinese prison in 2015 after he was duped by an online lover into transporting meth.

Speaker 7 New Zealander Sharon Armstrong was tricked into smuggling cocaine and spent two and a half years in an Argentinian prison.

Speaker 15 British professor Paul Frampton was sentenced to almost five years in Buenos Aires for unknowingly transporting drugs as well.

Speaker 19 It just goes to show you how common these internet romance scams have become worldwide.

Speaker 16 Not just for recruiting drug mules, but in general, identity theft, blackmail, extortion.

Speaker 7 The internet has given rise to a whole new frontier of con artistry that manifests in an unlimited number of variations, all of which are intended to extract money from the mark.

Speaker 36 The victims of these scams are usually left embarrassed by their own actions.

Speaker 19 It leaves otherwise reasonable people dumbfounded by their own decisions.

Speaker 56 What they did was naive.

Speaker 5 It was stupid. It was beautiful.

Speaker 22 Vulnerability is the foundation of love, isn't it?

Speaker 36 Opening yourself up to someone so much that all common sense goes out the window because you have faith that that person only has good intentions and won't destroy you. But sometimes they do.

Speaker 19 Sometimes emotionally, sometimes financially. Sometimes both.

Speaker 16 Typically, like in Maria's case, the scam was perpetrated by an imposter behind a screen that the victim will never meet.

Speaker 10 But sometimes that person on the other end is real.

Speaker 31 You can see them, you can hear them, you can touch them, and they are everything you have been waiting for.

Speaker 24 An international businessman emotionally manipulates and defrauds multiple women in order to sustain his life of lies.

Speaker 26 On this episode of Swindled,

Speaker 58 they bribed government officials

Speaker 59 of the A-state law, clearly unethical, pay to play billions of taxpayer dollars that were wasted.

Speaker 2 Dummied up its books and records to hide themselves.

Speaker 59 And it's responsible

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Speaker 62 Cecilia Schroeder Fjelhe was a busy woman.

Speaker 11 The 29-year-old from Lillestrom, Norway was living in London and working full-time as a user experience designer while trying to finish grad school.

Speaker 43 She had very very little time to socialize or date. Her chances of meeting new people were limited.

Speaker 53 Such is the life of the young professional.

Speaker 63 So one Saturday evening at home in January 2018, Cecilia opened the Tinder dating app on her phone for some mindless entertainment.

Speaker 53 For those of you who don't know, Tinder is the innovative dating app where users swipe through short profiles and photographs of people that are geographically near to them.

Speaker 43 in hopes of finding true love or, depending on their personal motivations, at the very least, a good time.

Speaker 43 A swipe to the left means you're not interested and that you never want to see that person's face or the weird bathroom selfies ever again. While a swipe to the right means that you like what you see.

Speaker 43 And if that person you swiped right on eventually swipes right on you, a match is made.

Speaker 32 And the two mutually interested parties are invited to chat with one another through the app.

Speaker 30 It's not that complicated.

Speaker 43 The complications usually come later. Sometimes the two matches light a fire, hence the name Tinder.

Speaker 52 Very clever.

Speaker 43 And other times you might find yourself filing a restraining order.

Speaker 53 Results may vary.

Speaker 43 After swiping left through what I can only assume were hundreds of profiles of human garbage, Cecilia finally came across a profile that piqued her interest.

Speaker 50 This guy, Simon, comes up on my phone and you can see that he lives a very different life than what I'm living. He had some selfies, a picture in a nice car.
You could see that it was a private jet.

Speaker 50 Just an overall package.

Speaker 53 Simon, the overall package was 28 years old from tel aviv israel his profile said he was the ceo of ld diamonds and judging by his featured photographs the dude definitely had money one of the photos on simon's profile showed him holding a phone up to his ear undoubtedly conducting very important business coincidentally that photo was also a perfect shot of his expensive watch In another, Simon is seated in what is obviously a private jet, seatbelt buckled, designer outfit, phone in hand, hand, different, expensive watch.

Speaker 65 Seemed like a busy man.

Speaker 64 Cecilia swiped right, and it was a match. The two chatted briefly on the app before moving the conversation to the WhatsApp messaging platform.

Speaker 43 And within minutes, Simon was inviting Cecilia to meet for coffee the next morning at the Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane, where he was staying.

Speaker 43 Simon told her that he was in London for business and wouldn't be staying long, so this might be their only chance to meet.

Speaker 53 Cecilia arrived at the hotel and waited for a date in the lobby.

Speaker 61 Simon eventually appeared before her and he was just as handsome as his photographs depicted and even more charming.

Speaker 64 Immediately, Cecilia felt that there was a connection between them.

Speaker 50 Hey, this guy actually is really nice and funny and yes, someone that I could date and like maybe have something with.

Speaker 44 Cecilia asked Simon about his job.

Speaker 43 and he told her he worked with diamonds.

Speaker 43 He told her his name was Simon Leviath, the son of Lev Leviath, Israel's well-known king of diamonds, which made Simon, quote, the prince of diamonds, a title that required constant travel and inherent danger.

Speaker 45 But with risk comes reward.

Speaker 43 Simon's lifestyle and fashion choices made it clear that he was very wealthy.

Speaker 44 After finishing their cups of coffee, Simon led Cecilia back into the hotel lobby to meet his team.

Speaker 43 He introduced one man as his business partner. Another woman appeared to be his secretary or some kind of personal assistant.

Speaker 43 And there was another much larger tattooed man with an Eastern European accent that Simon introduced as his bodyguard.

Speaker 53 Simon told Cecilia that he and his staff were preparing to fly to Bulgaria later that night for a meeting, and he invited her to tag along.

Speaker 61 The invitation caught Cecilia off guard and she was hesitant to accept. Traveling internationally on a stranger's private jet was not something that she would typically agree to do.

Speaker 53 Then again, it's not something that she typically would ever be invited to do.

Speaker 27 She told Simon that she wasn't sure she should go because she needed to work on her thesis, to which he replied, No problem, you can work on the plane.

Speaker 53 Cecilia had to admit it, she really liked this guy, and she felt comfortable knowing that there would be other people, especially other women, making the trip with them.

Speaker 43 Before she knew it, there she was, 30,000 feet in the air with a group of people she had just met.

Speaker 45 When they arrived in Bulgaria just after 10 p.m., a driver took them straight to a Hilton hotel.

Speaker 45 After a pleasant stay, Cecilia flew home to London the next day, while Simon traveled to a different country on business.

Speaker 43 But he returned to London a week later for a second visit.

Speaker 50 This was the first time where I felt, oh my god, I really like him. And it seems that he really likes me back as well.
You like the feeling of being like.

Speaker 44 Simon definitely liked Cecilia.

Speaker 52 He texted her every day with messages like, Good morning, dear.

Speaker 64 Did you sleep well?

Speaker 43 And he sent audio and video messages where he poured the cheese on, extra heavy.

Speaker 68 It never feels this way, never. If you will ever tell me,

Speaker 68 I won't even imagine it or even believe it. And I couldn't agree more.

Speaker 69 Thinking

Speaker 69 about you. Want to spend some time together, go to a warm place, kiss you, hug you.
How was your day?

Speaker 70 Cecily, my love, I love you. I miss you.

Speaker 2 I can't wait to see you.

Speaker 70 You're pretty.

Speaker 71 Good night, my love.

Speaker 72 I miss you so much.

Speaker 70 I can't wait to see you.

Speaker 72 I will support you. I will help you.

Speaker 72 And we will lift each other. You're nice, you're cute, you're sweet.
You let me to do what I need to do, and I really, really, really appreciate it.

Speaker 72 I wish you a great and a beautiful and a successful and amazing day as you. Kisses.

Speaker 4 Kisses.

Speaker 65 This Simon Levive guy seemed too good to be true, and Cecilia definitely had her doubts.

Speaker 53 This jet-setting, young, handsome millionaire probably had a different lady in every country.

Speaker 52 How could he not?

Speaker 43 Cecilia wasn't naive, but there was one fact about Simon that made her feel more at ease and secure.

Speaker 41 Simon was always available.

Speaker 43 No matter where in the world he was currently located or what time of day, Simon would respond to Cecilia almost instantaneously with his trademarked charisma.

Speaker 43 He made it clear that she was his main priority.

Speaker 29 Maybe true love is real after all.

Speaker 44 But pretty soon, Simon's business began interfering with pleasure.

Speaker 53 He told Cecilia that he would be unable to return to London for the time being because of work, and that he he would unfortunately not be able to visit for her 30th birthday.

Speaker 71 Today, unfortunately, I won't come. I thought so I will.

Speaker 70 I have a lot, a lot of things to do.

Speaker 43 However, Simon Levive really knows how to soften a blow.

Speaker 29 In place of his presence, Simon had 100 red roses and chocolates delivered to the birthday girl.

Speaker 70 Happy birthday till 100, like 20. I wish you all the best, really the best of everything.
I told your wishes will become true. So I really wish you huge success and everything.

Speaker 70 Good night, take care, and happy birthday.

Speaker 32 Cecilia had never received such an extravagant and thoughtful gift from a boyfriend.

Speaker 53 This Simon guy was definitely too good to be true.

Speaker 1 Support for Swindled comes from Simply Safe. If you could actually stop someone from breaking into your home before they got inside, why wouldn't you want to? That's the idea behind Simply Safe.

Speaker 1 Real security that can stop stop a crime before it starts. Traditional systems wait until it's too late.
But SimplySafe's active guard outdoor protection is proactive.

Speaker 1 Their AI-powered cameras detect suspicious activity and real live agents step in.

Speaker 1 They actually talk to potential intruders while they're still outside, trigger sirens, flash spotlights, and let them know the police are on the way. It's wild to watch.

Speaker 1 I've used SimplySafe for years, and I trust it to protect everything that matters to me, even when I'm not home.

Speaker 1 It's reliable, simple, and honestly, kind of satisfying to know someone else is watching when I can't.

Speaker 1 Our listeners get exclusive early access to SimplySafe's Black Friday sale, where you can save 60% on any new system. This is their biggest deal of the year.

Speaker 1 There will never be a better time to get real security for your home. Go to simplysafe.com/slash swindled.
That's simply safe.com/slash swindled to save 60%

Speaker 1 on any new system.

Speaker 26 Cecilia and Simon had only been dating a month, but things were getting pretty serious.

Speaker 57 Simon was already addressing Cecilia as his future wife, and Cecilia was sending video tours of luxury apartments in London for the two of them to rent together.

Speaker 15 Their long-distance relationship was flourishing, but she was looking forward to having him closer.

Speaker 8 But in the meantime, Simon had the means to make it work.

Speaker 15 In February 2018, Cecilia traveled home to Norway for a work conference, and to her surprise, she received a text from Simon announcing that he too was in Oslo, but only for a few hours, just so he could see her.

Speaker 43 Cecilia was beyond excited.

Speaker 11 She could not believe that Simon had gone out of his way and spent, presumably, thousands of dollars for a short visit just because he missed her.

Speaker 25 Or, so that's what she thought at the time.

Speaker 15 In retrospect, it was clear that Simon had an ulterior motive.

Speaker 18 The day after their visit in Oslo, Simon asked Cecilia for a favor.

Speaker 74 Of course, I will cover up everything that you need to be there in advance. But yeah, that would be great.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 43 Because of the dangerous nature of the diamond business, Simon told Cecilia that his security team was concerned that his competition and adversaries were tracking his movements through his spending and had instructed him to avoid leaving a digital trail.

Speaker 20 Simon told Cecilia that it wasn't that big of a deal.

Speaker 41 Such circumstances were normal in his industry and that he would get it all straightened out as soon as possible.

Speaker 53 But in the meantime, he needed her help.

Speaker 12 It was for his own protection.

Speaker 4 For starters, Simon told Cecilia that he needed her to apply for an American Express platinum credit card and to report her annual income as $200,000 when doing so.

Speaker 5 The inflated salary would would ensure a higher credit limit on the card, which Simon would need to sustain his daily operations.

Speaker 53 Cecilia told Simon that her annual income was nowhere near $200,000 a year and that American Express would never approve of it.

Speaker 40 But Simon insisted and assured her that no one at American Express would even bother to check.

Speaker 12 Simon was correct.

Speaker 32 Cecilia was approved for the card, and she gave it to Simon two weeks later, in early March, when she met him in Amsterdam.

Speaker 75 I miss you.

Speaker 70 Thank you for everything you're doing for me. I really, really appreciate it.

Speaker 75 And thank you for everything. And please keep me posted and we will be in Daisy Sombut's leap and we will talk tomorrow.

Speaker 27 Cecilia trusted Simon, especially financially.

Speaker 18 If he could afford to board a private jet to Oslo for an hour, he could afford to pay her back, right?

Speaker 63 Besides, the credit limit was only $200,000.

Speaker 41 That's nothing for someone like Simon Leviev, the Prince of Diamonds.

Speaker 11 And the credit card was critical for his safety.

Speaker 13 How could Cecilia say no?

Speaker 18 Even if the threats threats were over-exaggerated, for Cecilia, the temporary death was worth the peace of mind.

Speaker 10 A few weeks later, Cecilia received a message from Simon that proved that the threats against him were very real.

Speaker 40 It contained photos and videos of Simon and his bodyguard in the back of an ambulance.

Speaker 44 Simon appeared unharmed, but the bodyguard was bleeding from the back of his head.

Speaker 15 Simon told Cecilia that they were having a night out in Denmark, just minding their own business, when an unknown assailant randomly attacked them.

Speaker 11 It was proof that Simon had a constant target on his back.

Speaker 57 It made Cecilia nervous, and it bought Simon a little more time.

Speaker 26 Because, in addition to Simon's safety, there was something else that was making Cecilia nervous, and that was her rapidly accumulating debt.

Speaker 10 From March 2nd to March 25th of 2018, Simon had charged more than $75,000 on the American Express card that was in Cecilia's name. and Cecilia had yet to receive any kind of reimbursement.

Speaker 15 According to the credit card statements, Simon had used the card at designer stores in Bangkok and Barcelona.

Speaker 11 He had stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Berlin, and he had been paying the airfare for his entire team for flights to Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Dubai, and more.

Speaker 26 Simon would stall every time Cecilia inquired about being repaid.

Speaker 29 He would always ask for another week or give her some date in the future.

Speaker 28 One text from Simon to Cecilia read, quote, I promise you it will finish max on May 1st, 2018.

Speaker 53 I give you my word, and I give you your card back, and everything no matter what will be my security status.

Speaker 15 But it was more than just the American Express card that Cecilia was worried about.

Speaker 53 Within three months of meeting, she had taken out loans from 10 different banks to help Simon.

Speaker 6 In total, including the charges on her Amex, Cecilia had loaned Simon a total of 2.1 million Norwegian krona, about 240,000 US dollars.

Speaker 11 In fact, Cecilia and Simon's entire relationship now seemed to revolve around money, and Cecilia was sick of it.

Speaker 15 In a series of texts to Simon, she wrote, I'm done talking about money with you.

Speaker 22 I know you are too.

Speaker 11 Our relationship has been 99% business and money, and I'm just so sad.

Speaker 25 I just really need the bank transfer to come through.

Speaker 41 The bank transfer she is referring to is one for $500,000 for which Simon had sent her a receipt.

Speaker 11 A receipt from TD Bank showing that he had transferred the money to Cecilia's personal account at DNB Bank.

Speaker 33 It was a receipt for a transfer that never came through.

Speaker 18 Cecilia was frustrated, but not ready to give up.

Speaker 33 She was going to give Simon one last chance to prove to her how much he cared.

Speaker 26 She created a Facebook event for a lunch in Oslo for the weekend of April 21st, and she invited her friends and family.

Speaker 26 Simon told Cecilia that he would be there and that he could not wait to meet everybody.

Speaker 43 He even talked to Cecilia's mother on the phone.

Speaker 14 But when that day arrived, Simon never showed up.

Speaker 61 Instead, he sent a text to Cecilia that read, I'm so upset.

Speaker 26 I want to see you.

Speaker 15 I miss you, love.

Speaker 22 I'm sorry, but I must finish this shit.

Speaker 26 Cecilia replied, I'm also sorry.

Speaker 41 Everyone was looking forward to seeing you, and I feel a bit stupid.

Speaker 5 And before the new wound even had a chance to heal, Simon asked Cecilia for more money.

Speaker 29 And that was it.

Speaker 41 Cecilia Fjelia cut off all contact with Simon Leviath. She blocked his number and social media.

Speaker 43 There was nothing left to say.

Speaker 20 The debt was one thing, but most of all, she was heartbroken.

Speaker 10 Hugs and kisses had turned into accounts and credit cards.

Speaker 14 What happened?

Speaker 50 I think that's the hardest part of it. Like when I realized that he wasn't who he said he was, was the love aspect that the person that I thought that I knew and loved.

Speaker 50 He had just done this in the most evil way.

Speaker 15 A few weeks later, in early May, American Express visited Cecilia at her office and told her exactly what had happened.

Speaker 50 Two guys from American Express come to you and said that

Speaker 50 that's him. That's the guy.
They told me that they had had long investigations on him already and that I was a string of four or five women. I almost wanted to throw up.

Speaker 50 Everything just came crashing down at once.

Speaker 26 They told her that Simon Levayev used to be named Shimon Hayut until he had it legally changed and that he was a notorious fraudster with a history of complaints.

Speaker 28 Apparently, Simon had been running some kind of online dating Ponzi scheme where he would use one lover's funds to court another.

Speaker 63 For example, Cecilia discovered that Simon had charged $10,000 on her credit card to take a Swedish woman named Pernile Holholm to the opera in Amsterdam, and that Pernila was just one of many.

Speaker 24 Cecilia was devastated.

Speaker 13 In an interview with ABC News, she described the toll the revelation took on her mental health.

Speaker 50 Yeah, I had to be put into a psychiatric ward because of suicidal thoughts. I didn't see a way out.
You lost your boyfriend, and nothing that he just dumped you. You didn't never existed.

Speaker 50 He was never your boyfriend.

Speaker 15 And the threats she had received from Simon weren't helping either.

Speaker 17 The day after Cecilia had cut him off, Simon worried that she had grown wise and would report him to the police.

Speaker 11 He called her phone from a blocked number and left a voicemail that was ominous in tone.

Speaker 13 He said,

Speaker 61 Hey, I want to tell you something.

Speaker 45 You can't just disappear and think that everything is all alright.

Speaker 9 So, just watch out.

Speaker 45 Because for every action, there will be a reaction.

Speaker 65 Less than a week after her meeting with American Express, Cecilia filed a complaint with the Norwegian police and later the British police.

Speaker 34 Neither were very helpful, but in Norway, she was questioned for less than two hours and the case was closed three months later without any further investigation.

Speaker 27 A spokesperson for the Norwegian police said the case was dropped because due to the recent departure of many of the department's investigators, they lacked the capacity to handle it.

Speaker 26 For the police, Cecilia's case simply wasn't a priority, but she was determined not to let Simon just get away with it.

Speaker 53 So with nowhere else to turn and completely frustrated, Cecilia submitted a tip to Viji, a Norwegian tabloid newspaper, asking for help in telling her story, even though it was a story that Cecilia was not very eager to share.

Speaker 63 She knew that she would be judged harshly by the public.

Speaker 28 She knew that she would be called foolish and naive and crazy.

Speaker 24 What she had done was embarrassing, and Cecilia would be the first one to admit to that.

Speaker 28 But at the very least, She wanted to make Simon's name and voice and face publicly known.

Speaker 53 She wanted to step forward and expose expose him and his game to the world in hopes that any future recurrent victims could avoid the living hell in which she currently resided.

Speaker 8 A choice that, in my opinion, takes courage.

Speaker 64 Cecilia provided Viji with full access into her private life.

Speaker 35 She gave them all of the messages she had exchanged with Simon during their brief relationship, and she sat down for a recorded interview.

Speaker 66 detailing the biggest mistake of her life.

Speaker 53 What followed was six months of intensive research by the Vijay staff, led by journalists Natalie Ramua-Hansen, Erland Ofty Arnson, and Christopher Kumar, who then enlisted an investigative journalist in Israel named Yuri Blau to dig deep into the past of Shimon Hayut, and there was plenty of dirt to be found.

Speaker 63 The con artist, formerly known as Shimon Hayut, was the son of a rabbi who grew up in a poor ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel.

Speaker 18 Because of problems at home in 2006, Shimon at 15 years old left Israel to live with the Cobans, friends of the Hayute family who lived in Brooklyn, New York.

Speaker 34 Two years later, when the Cobans went on vacation to Florida, Shimone stayed behind in Brooklyn and in a span of three days spent more than $42,000 on international flights, fancy dinners, shopping sprees, and hotel stays.

Speaker 63 And he paid for all of it using the Coban's credit card.

Speaker 53 When Avi Coben received a phone call from his bank while at Disney World, he left the rest of the family behind in Florida and returned to New York immediately.

Speaker 53 When he arrived, Shimon Hayut had already fled to Israel.

Speaker 67 In 2010, when Shimon was 20 years old, he was hired through an agency to babysit an affluent couple's five-year-old son.

Speaker 34 Three months into the job, the mother of the child received a call from her bank alerting her about a suspicious check they had received from their account.

Speaker 35 It was for 50,000 shekels and it appeared to be forged.

Speaker 53 The mother texted Shimon to let him know that she would need him to watch their son a little longer than usual that that day because she had to stop by the police station on the way home.

Speaker 53 When the mother arrived home later that afternoon, she found her five-year-old son abandoned in a stairwell and Shimon Hayut was nowhere to be found.

Speaker 40 There was another incident later that year in which Shimone, now working as a handyman, stole blank checks from a businessman whose house he was working on.

Speaker 53 Shimon forged one of the checks for 250,000 shekels, about $70,000, and used the funds to buy a Porsche, which he had fraudulently registered to his own brother without his knowledge.

Speaker 53 Shimon used another check to pay for a civilian flight course that he never completed, but it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Speaker 40 In class, Shimon befriended a fellow student, who he then defrauded for $150,000 under the guise of a clothing import scheme.

Speaker 43 Shimon Hayud's crimes eventually caught up with him. He was arrested and his trial was set to begin in 2012.

Speaker 35 But in late 2011, Shimon purchased a fake passport for 10,000 shekels and used it to flee Israel to avoid standing trial.

Speaker 35 Sometime over the next three years, between 2012 and 2015, Shimon Hayut became Simon Leviath. He developed his new Tinder scheme and recruited a team to help him execute it.

Speaker 61 The bodyguard, the business partner who is said to be a childhood friend, the Dutch woman who introduces herself as Simon's personal assistant, and the other woman that was always tending to a child, which allegedly belongs to Simon.

Speaker 64 Who are these people?

Speaker 63 Have they been conned to?

Speaker 53 Probably not.

Speaker 25 By all accounts, it appears that they are just as complicit in the con as Simon himself.

Speaker 43 They accept payments on his behalf, drum up phony security threats, and then bail him out when he gets into trouble.

Speaker 43 Simon's team has it down to a science, and for the most part, Simon has escaped any real consequences for his actions.

Speaker 43 Although in 2015, Simon was arrested in Finland for defrauding at least three different women, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Speaker 61 But after posting bail, Finland extradited Simon back to Israel, where sentencing for his past crimes awaited.

Speaker 63 And for the second time, Simon disappeared before his day in court.

Speaker 57 It was a few months later when he met Cecilia Fjalhe.

Speaker 26 Six months after that, he was on the run again.

Speaker 53 In Tel Aviv, journalists for Vijay had Israeli authorities confirm Simon's identity using photographs, and they were able to track down Simon's mother at the family's apartment.

Speaker 25 She claimed to have been estranged from Simon for 10 years and had no idea on his whereabouts.

Speaker 65 But Fiji did not give up there.

Speaker 53 In order to find him, the journalists contacted Pernila Holholm, the Swedish woman whose night at the opera was paid for by Cecilia via Simon.

Speaker 63 Pernila was shocked and disgusted when she was informed that Simon had been ripping off other women because Simon had ripped her off too, for almost $50,000 and plane tickets to Bangkok.

Speaker 53 And coincidentally, Pernila was planning to meet him in Munich so that he could pay her back.

Speaker 61 Simon had promised to give her one of his expensive watches to serve as repayment.

Speaker 28 Pernelia agreed and shared the location of her meeting with Simon to Vijay so they could record footage of him secretly.

Speaker 53 When Pernila returned to her home in Stockholm and had the watch appraised, She was told that it was counterfeit and completely worthless.

Speaker 24 After that, Pernila agreed to confront Simon, and she agreed to travel to Oslo to let PG document it.

Speaker 24 I'm alright, Benia.

Speaker 24 Um,

Speaker 47 I'm not so good, Simon.

Speaker 49 What is it? Can you just tell me the truth? I know you've been in jail in Finland. I know you've-

Speaker 49 Why the fuck is this causing you? I know that you've frauded so many people, okay?

Speaker 49 for it for the rest of your life. And I can't pay for it.
I am paying for the rest of my life. You took everything I have.
This is your mistake. This is your mistake.

Speaker 49 You wanna make some claims against me and stuff like that? Give me the evidence. The Israeli police have confirmed you with your picture.

Speaker 48 That's what? Nobody has consulted

Speaker 48 because it's not true.

Speaker 49 I had a flight to Amsterdam, right?

Speaker 49 Yeah. Yeah, who paid for that?

Speaker 49 I paid it. No, you didn't.
I have the transaction of the ticket and and it's paid by another woman.

Speaker 47 Because due to my enemies, I couldn't use my own. And I have paid to these people cash.
I did give them money.

Speaker 49 Sam,

Speaker 49 you can't keep doing this. Like,

Speaker 49 it's crazy.

Speaker 49 I mean, to my devotean, it's crucial.

Speaker 77 And it's going to be a price for it. And I promise you, it's going to be bigger than money.

Speaker 49 What do you mean, the price?

Speaker 77 I am telling you that you double-cross me. You're going to pay for it.

Speaker 66 On February 16th, 2019, BG published their special report about Simon Leviev and his victims.

Speaker 43 It's titled The Tender Swindler, and it has become the most viewed story in the history of the newspaper.

Speaker 64 I highly recommend you check it out.

Speaker 43 You can find a link to it in the show notes of this episode.

Speaker 53 Despite multiple attempts, BG was never able to persuade Simon to talk to them, but when ABC News followed up with a report of their own, They were able to communicate with Simon through text.

Speaker 5 He said he was in Panama and denied any wrongdoing towards Cecilia, writing, quote, There's nothing here, just a loan between friends that went south.

Speaker 53 She agreed to loan me money, and then she disappeared, not answering phones, or emails, or letters before we were able to pay them back.

Speaker 28 They used me for my life and got expensive gifts and everything.

Speaker 53 In other words, gold diggers.

Speaker 20 When I asked help, they agreed to help, and they know I have some problems.

Speaker 14 I didn't run from no one.

Speaker 20 It's all fake news and lies.

Speaker 50 I'm very tired about crying over this, you know. But it just comes and just, I can't help it.

Speaker 50 It's just so painful. Because I hate myself or the like, I just hate that I did this, you know.
When I'm reading the messages, I as well see how much talk there is about the banks.

Speaker 50 And like, and then I'm just like, you're so stupid, you know.

Speaker 41 With the help of her mother, Cecilia Fjelhe has tried to remain strong through it all.

Speaker 61 while her enormous debt continues to accrue interest.

Speaker 40 Cecilia says her credit has been frozen, she can't afford a lawyer, and she had to sell her apartment in Oslo.

Speaker 18 She has tried disputing the validity of her debts by providing documentation to the banks that proves that she was pressured and threatened into applying for the loans, which, under the United Kingdom's Contracts Act, should render it invalid.

Speaker 61 But so far, only one of the financial institutions has agreed.

Speaker 15 But Cecilia is doing her best to turn her negative situation into a positive one.

Speaker 28 Since her dramatic experience, Cecilia has borrowed borrowed words from Simon's threats.

Speaker 61 She launched an organization named Action Reaction to support those who find themselves in a similar situation and to change society's perception of the victims of these types of crimes.

Speaker 63 Cecilia is also pushing for a more consistent and more ethical banking industry that awards loans based on due diligence and verifiable information rather than meaningless numbers on a form.

Speaker 53 Both Cecilia and Bernila, who have since bonded and have remained supportive of one another throughout the ordeal, are convinced that there are more of Simon's victims who have yet to come forward.

Speaker 63 They both agree that he comes across as a very thoughtful person who people are willing to help, and that's what makes him so dangerous.

Speaker 43 Simon Leviev is currently wanted in Israel and the United Kingdom, and there are ongoing investigations in Germany, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands.

Speaker 43 Additionally, Lev Levaev, the king of diamonds, who Simon was pretending to be related to, has filed a complaint of his own.

Speaker 45 Since Fiji's report, Simon has laid low.

Speaker 63 Even his lawyer claims to have lost contact with him in the past few months.

Speaker 53 So maybe you can help find him.

Speaker 45 Go to the swindled Instagram page, look at his face, remember it, and keep an eye out for him the next time you're swiping your heart out.

Speaker 50 He manages to do this because he is a great guy who pretends that he cares so much for other people, so you want to care for him as well.

Speaker 56 Breaking news.

Speaker 27 About two weeks after this episode was recorded, at 4 p.m.

Speaker 28 on June 28th, 2019, Shimon Hayut, aka Simon Leviev, aka the Tinder Swindler, was arrested by Interpol at Athens International Airport in Greece.

Speaker 61 when trying to leave the country using a fake passport.

Speaker 52 Fiji caught up with Simon as he was being escorted into court wearing handcuffs.

Speaker 42 So, what happened in there?

Speaker 38 Later?

Speaker 42 What did he say?

Speaker 42 You're gonna be free?

Speaker 39 It's uh about not choosing side, it's about making the truth.

Speaker 39 And unfortunately, everything you published lately, you published a bunch of lies that had nothing to do with the reality. The amounts, the sums, and everything are far from the reality.

Speaker 39 And as you can see right now, I am a free man in two hours. So it's me my innocence.

Speaker 39 You say I'm a fraud and I'm a poser. My name is Simon Leval, as I said, and here I am in court.
And in two hours, I'm walking out a free man.

Speaker 39 So as I said, this is my statement. Once you will make the facts right, you know choose inside,

Speaker 39 then we can talk and I will give you the interview that you want.

Speaker 61 Simon Levayev was sentenced to 50 days in jail and fined about 9,000 US dollars for using a false passport.

Speaker 66 He is currently sitting in a Greek prison, waiting to be extradited to Israel.

Speaker 53 He released a public comment that reads, quote, Everything you have heard is a lie.

Speaker 43 Nothing the media writes is true.

Speaker 40 In a month, I will be a free man and you will get all your money back.

Speaker 62 And by the way, the police beat me up yesterday.

Speaker 30 When I reached out to Cecilia to celebrate the news, she simply wrote, I am so, so, so happy.

Speaker 52 Stay tuned.

Speaker 45 Swindled is written, researched, produced, and hosted by me, a concerned citizen, with original music by Trevor Howard.

Speaker 56 I want to thank Cecilia Fjelhe for allowing me to share her story and participating in the process.

Speaker 29 I wish her the best of luck in her recovery.

Speaker 53 A special thanks to Natalie, Ramua, Hansen, and Vijay for their help as well, and my apologies for mispronouncing all of your names.

Speaker 65 Viji has been the number one source for covering the story and it appears that there is far more to come, so visit vg.no to stay up to date.

Speaker 28 Go support investigative journalism.

Speaker 38 It's important.

Speaker 63 I also want to thank Tyler from the podcast Minds of Madness for lending that booming voice of his to the beginning of this episode.

Speaker 65 He's a great dude and he came through in the clutch, even though the line I had him read was super cheesy.

Speaker 64 Thanks again, Tyler.

Speaker 63 For more information about Swindled, visit swindledpodcast.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at swindledpodcast.

Speaker 30 You can support the show by going to patreon.com slash swindled and joining the valued listener rewards program.

Speaker 66 For five bucks a month, valued listeners get early access to new episodes and exclusive access to bonus episodes.

Speaker 11 If you sign up today, you will get instant access to all of the past and future bonus episodes, including ones about Larissa Watson, the Portofino pirate, and Vinstar, the corrupt vending machine company.

Speaker 63 On top of that, 5% of all Patreon proceeds are donated to charity every month.

Speaker 43 It's a two-way street.

Speaker 44 If you join Patreon, I will support you.

Speaker 72 I will help you.

Speaker 72 And we will lift each other. You're nice, you're cute, you're sweet.
You let me to do what I need to do. And I really, really, really appreciate it.

Speaker 26 That's right, Simon.

Speaker 25 Patreon.com slash swindled.

Speaker 53 I really, really, really appreciate it.

Speaker 25 You can also support the show by buying something at swindledpodcast.com slash shop.

Speaker 45 There are stickers, patches, hats, hoodies, posters, t-shirts, and more.

Speaker 62 Go check it out.

Speaker 30 Swindledpodcast.com/slash shop.

Speaker 26 If you don't want anything in return for your support, you can always simply donate using the form on the homepage.

Speaker 62 Anything helps, I appreciate it.

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Speaker 57 That's it.

Speaker 30 Thanks for listening.

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