Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler exposes the Ponzi scheme Simon Leviev used to scam millions. Here’s how a Ponzi scheme works and the history behind it.
Simon Leviev used a Ponzi scheme to scam millions of dollars in The Tinder Swindler, a new documentary available on Netflix. The documentary follows an investigative news report from 2019 (via Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang) which initially drew Leviev’s crimes into the public eye. Now, with The Tinder Swindler at number one in Netflix’s coveted “Top 10,” Leviev’s scams have many viewers wondering what a Ponzi scheme really is and the history behind it.
The Tinder Swindler begins with Cecilie Fjellhoy’s story of how she met Simon Leviev on the dating app, Tinder. Convinced Simon was the son of LLD Diamonds’ Lev Leviev, Cecilie enters into a whirlwind romance with him, but things turn dire when Leviev convinces her he is in grave danger and she uses copious amounts of her own money to save him. Two other women are soon introduced – Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte – with similar stories. Each time, Leviev woos his victim into some form of a relationship, leading them to believe he is a billionaire, before suckering them for large sums of money.
One of the biggest parts of Simon Leviev’s scam in The Tinder Swindler, however, is that he uses one…
