The Tinder Swindler

[Enero]

Mods I didn’t see a topic for this so I’m starting. I think this is where it belongs on the board. Please move or close If I’ve not set up correctly. Thank you! 
 

Quote

A group of women who were the victims of a dating app based swindler join together in an attempt to hunt him down and recover the millions of dollars that were stolen from them.

 

[Enero]

I just finished watching this. First of all, with online dating, if it’s too good to be true, it is. Jet setting “hot” guy who takes you on a private jet (with his Ex and child, no less, with her saying how wonderful he is. RME) on the first date to another country is a red flag. Love bombing is common with online dating and always spells trouble. 

Moreover, if this guy is a billionaire why did he need money from these ladies? Shouldn’t the question have been asked about his billionaire friends or father who could help? And if his assets are frozen (or being watched) because some mobster or whomever is after him, why would these ladies, who don’t really know this guy from Adam, upset their life, get in debt, trying to help him? 

Not to mention the potential risk of danger. If this guy and his bodyguard are being beaten and bloodied because of his “enemies” and as a result he has to hide from them, is this really a situation they should’ve been getting involved with? Absolutely not. 

Lastly, dude “repaying” Cecilie with a check was another blazing red flag. Why couldn’t he just wire her the $500k? Incredible that this guy could live, and continues to live, such a lavish lifestyle by conning women out of money. Also surprised that he hasn’t been banned from Tinder.

Ayleen’s story was the most interesting as was her personality. At least she was able to get some semblance of pay back. But his messages were scary. What a narcissistic asshole crying about not being able to get the plastic surgery he wanted and whining about eating mall food and being homeless, after conning women out of millions. SMH

It’s unfortunate that these women got, got, but I couldn’t feel sorry for them. They got caught up in the shallow and sadly got conned because of it. 

[FancyRhubarb]

I think that's a bit harsh. It's easy to judge these women for being idiots from the outside but he was an experienced conman.* The number of victims, the amounts and the different types of scams show that he wasn't just love bombing and a lot of people fell for it. And he appeared to be living the lifestyle he represented. 

I want to know what happened to the woman who was with his 'daughter' on the plane. Why would she help him after he scammed her? 

Those voicemails at the end were scary. They sounded like Mel Gibson screaming at his girlfriend. It also looks like he's still living the life, judging by his Instagram. More proof that the worst people always prosper, I guess.

 

*I say this as someone who was scammed. Not for much but I was always the one who would scoff at the Nigerian scam emails and judge people that fell for it. It was so obvious! Until you're in it. People want to trust other people and what they are saying. And let me tell you, I'm fucking furious TO THIS DAY that I got scammed. It was only a couple of hundred dollars but I'm still so embarrassed. And furious. Did I mention furious? :)

[Enero]

11 hours ago, FancyRhubarb said:

I think that's a bit harsh. It's easy to judge these women for being idiots from the outside but he was an experienced conman.*

I think it takes a person being in a certain mindset to get scammed like this guy scammed. When I was doing the online dating thing I “met” a guy who was all that and then some. My instincts kept telling me this guy was trash, but I kept talking with him. I mean in hindsight his story was ridiculous, his wife had supposedly abandoned him and their 4 year old daughter but he was here in the U.S., while his daughter was in Italy and he NEVER talked about her. Was only available to talk at odd times and was supposedly on vacation here in the U.S. it seems forever. Long story short I finally listened to my instincts and  cut this guy off when he started asking me to send him nude or photos of myself in lingerie. Who knows what he would’ve done had I been stupid enough to comply. Probably would’ve used the pictures to try and blackmail me for money. At that time in my life, I was lonely and determined to find love no matter what. Thankfully it didn’t end in disaster like it did for these ladies.

My point, you really have to listen to your instincts and THINK. You cant be desperate and too determined to make it happen because that will certainly cloud your judgment. With online dating (any type of dating), if it’s too good to be true it is. A lot of these scammers use the same MO. And certainly when a BILLIONAIRE starts asking you to loan him money, that’s a problem. 
 

 

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Enero said:

My point, you really have to listen to your instincts and THINK. You cant be desperate and too determined to make it happen because that will certainly cloud your judgment.

I think listening to instincts  is good but I think these are very different situations.  It sounds like you had an experience with a run-of-the-mill (probably married) amateur catfisher.

This guy is a high level pro.  He met them. He spent over a month, sometimes longer, developing relationships with them. And it wasn't just love bombing, it was a month, months or even, with the last woman, over a year, of treating them to a lifestyle of a super wealthy man.  There were private flights, first class flights, lavish hotels, clubs, amazing trips, extravagant restaurant meals....etc.  Heck, he even only developed a friendship with one of them so it wasn't even about love or sex. 

He didn't just try to convince them he was wealthy; he showed it. It was "I'm going to visit you on a whim."  Or "let's just jet away in my private jet." He waited to ask for money and to break down their defenses, or at least Celine's, he actually paid her back at first.  The smaller amount. 

Yeah, I would've asked why his dad couldn't cover his debts---although with one, he made it sound like his dad was in jail. But by then, they had a real life visceral image of Simon as a wealthy man.

And I suspect he must have had a great deal of charisma in person and knew how to hit vulnerable parts.  Some of the victims they mentioned at the end weren't even women.  And one can only guess where his current money is coming from.

I am curious about Ayleen, though.  She said she had dated him for 14 months.  That's a long time.  I wonder if he genuinely liked her and wanted to keep her around before squeezing her out. 

 

[Anela]

He reminded me of a more ambitious/exaggerated version of a man my mother fell head over heels for, unfortunately. About nine years before she got back together with my dad. I was very young, but I think they met when she went out dancing with a friend. The next thing you know, she's moving us all in together, they're engaged, and then the major gaslighting started. I won't get into details, but he had her in a real state. I really hate to think of the damage he could have done, with access to the internet, and dating apps. He was dating at least six or seven other women, and when mum found out, she got them all together. She wanted to get revenge, but one woman (a woman with money), backed out. She ended up ditching her husband and daughter, and running away with him. I never understood the appeal, I didn't like him the first time I met him. 

My mother was smart, she wasn't usually fooled so easily. She ended up talking to someone on a help line (more than once), set up a new bank account, and put money there, then found us a new home, and moved us out when he made one of his disappearing acts. He found our new number, called her up, tried to do the lovey-dovey, "oh, I'm so sorry..." She just kept her voice casual, said it was fine, and when he kept on, she made it clear that she had moved on. She didn't let him hook her emotionally again, but she was nervous. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Anela

[Enero]

20 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I am curious about Ayleen, though.  She said she had dated him for 14 months.  That's a long time.  I wonder if he genuinely liked her and wanted to keep her around before squeezing her out. 

 

I don’t think she said how much money she borrowed for him, but I suspect he kept her around because she kept his pockets stacked and packed with money she was borrowing to “help” him. And he could easily keep convincing her to not only borrow money to give him, but that he’d one day pay her back. Though Ayleen seemed to be the most fierce of the ladies interviewed, she was likely the most gullible which is why he kept her around for so long. 

I  honestly think he’s incapable of getting attached to any woman (or anyone else for that matter). If he’s keeping someone around it’s because they are helping him with his end game, which is living a lavish lifestyle.

 

 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Enero said:

I don’t think she said how much money she borrowed for him,

It was $140,000.  He got 250,000 from Celine in less time which is why I was curious about her.  Did he start asking for money later or did he slow play her more?

 

[greekmom]

On 2/3/2022 at 8:27 PM, Enero said:

It’s unfortunate that these women got, got, but I couldn’t feel sorry for them. They got caught up in the shallow and sadly got conned because of it. 

I had done a paper for a capstone project on fraud. The police officer who was working in the fraud division gave me a great story which went:

"If a person is stabbed and robbed of 10,000$ we will feel sorry for them. But if a person is frauded and especially in a  romance scam of 10,000$ we don't feel sorry for them and scorn how stupid they are.  Why? They are both crimes."

These people know how to prey on other's emotions and hindsight is 20/20.  I cannot believe that this asshole got a slap on the wrists jail time and was out and now living in Israel.

I wonder what happened to his "business partner" and his "body  guard" and why they were never charged and how far did they know of his deception?

 

[merylinkid]

I was not thrilled with Aylene's revenge.   I mean it was obtaining his stuff by fraud.   Sure she was getting even but she could find herself in trouble.

The guy is never going to go through on his threats.   It will only bring him further to the attention of authorities.  Right now he is most likely back to grifting, why would he waste time on getting even with the ones who got away.   Even if women start being more careful, trust me, he has a line to spin about "spurned crazy exes making things up because he dumped them."   There are women who WILL believe him, because they want to.

I feel bad for those women.   They are STILL paying back the money he swindled while he has all those nice cars.   But I did wonder why they didn't say "what enemies?  who?   You knew this was a risk and had no plan other than get money from ME?"   I mean really rich people have more ways to get untraceable money than some sweet office worker.  

Although Cecilie needs to get a little more real about what love really is.   But you know, she's not hurting anyone, so whatever.   

[Enero]

3 hours ago, greekmom said:

But if a person is frauded and especially in a  romance scam of 10,000$ we don't feel sorry for them and scorn how stupid they are. 

They are both crimes but I think being stabbed and robbed is different from naively handing over a quarter of a million dollars to someone you don’t really know in hopes that it’ll help save them from their “enemies”. I think this documentary would’ve resonated more if they’d had a psychologist explain the psychology of the person being scammed.  There is the element of denial, wanting to believe the fantasy even when alarm bells are at a fever pitch, why is this? What is it within a person that makes them ignore all logic and buy into what is clearly utter nonsense? Cause though this guy has scammed a lot of people I doubt he’s batting a 1000. I’m betting there are quite a few who are not and did not fall for his BS.  

3 hours ago, merylinkid said:

 Even if women start being more careful, trust me, he has a line to spin about "spurned crazy exes making things up because he dumped them."   There are women who WILL believe him, because they want to.

 But I did wonder why they didn't say "what enemies?  who?   You knew this was a risk and had no plan other than get money from ME?"   I mean really rich people have more ways to get untraceable money than some sweet office worker.  

 

This is where these ladies lost me. First off what enemies? Secondly, you’re a billionaire and there’s no one else you can borrow money from? Surely you have rich family and friends who could loan you money? How about offshore accounts that aren’t traceable by your “enemies” ? And if he got enemies like that who are willing to resort to violence and can track his money like that could he be into something illegal? And most importantly, why are you getting me, the woman you claim to love involved with the violence etc. going on in your life? Why are you bringing this to me? Shouldn’t you try and protect me from this mess?

The other thing that made me shake my head was that these women didn’t even have the money themselves that they were loaning him, they were opening lines of credit and borrowing  against those lines of credit to help him. And with Cecile it sounded like she may have committed some credit card fraud trying to help him. Somehow this makes the situation even more baffling than if they actually had the money in their savings and loaned it to him. 

4 hours ago, greekmom said:

I wonder what happened to his "business partner" and his "body  guard" and why they were never charged and how far did they know of his deception?

I think at least the body guard knew everything. As far as charges being brought against him, for what? They had no proof that he knew of the scam even though I’m certain he did and he wasn’t the one getting credit under a fake name and using a fake passport. So I don’t think there was anything to charge the bodyguard or the baby mama with. 

[greekmom]

1 hour ago, Enero said:

They are both crimes but I think being stabbed and robbed is different from naively handing over a quarter of a million dollars to someone you don’t really know in hopes that it’ll help save them from their “enemies”. I think this documentary would’ve resonated more if they’d had a psychologist explain the psychology of the person being scammed.  There is the element of denial, wanting to believe the fantasy even when alarm bells are at a fever pitch, why is this? What is it within a person that makes them ignore all logic and buy into what is clearly utter nonsense? Cause though this guy has scammed a lot of people I doubt he’s batting a 1000. I’m betting there are quite a few who are not and did not fall for his BS.  

See that's where you are getting it wrong. It's not being naïve.  It's called manipulation and it's purely psychological.  Same with abuse. There is physical abuse and mental.  You can't see the mental but it's still abuse.

There are TONS of videos on youtube about romance scams and about your usual amazon scams.  Check out Scammer Payback, Jim Browning, Trilogy Media, Catfished.  I remember watching one with this guy who insisted that she was really real and it was some Nigerian guy.  When you go down that rabbit hole, you understand that it's all a psychological game and these scammers prey on people's emotions.

In regards to the last woman interviewed who sold his clothes, bravo to her. She basically did the same thing to him what he did to the others. She promised to sell his clothes and give him the money just like he asked for money from the women and promised to reimburse them.  I honestly would have loved it if she sent him a dollar and told him she sold the lot for that much. 

[Irlandesa]

9 hours ago, greekmom said:

 I cannot believe that this asshole got a slap on the wrists jail time and was out and now living in Israel.

I wonder what happened to his "business partner" and his "body  guard" and why they were never charged and how far did they know of his deception?

I don't think he was charged for defrauding women.  He was arrested for traveling on a fake passport and did jail time for whatever Israel wanted him for. That's probably why his accomplices weren't arrested. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Irlandesa

[supposebly]

16 hours ago, Enero said:

The other thing that made me shake my head was that these women didn’t even have the money themselves that they were loaning him, they were opening lines of credit and borrowing  against those lines of credit to help him.

It reminds me of watching Leverage. As with every con, you take advantage of people's vulnerabilities. And you always, always offer your mark something they most want or need. And you make them trust you. I think our judgment of these women is influenced by the thought that we think and hope we would be smarter and see it coming. I think all you can hope for is someone in your circle to stop you.

I think of the many many different money scams in the world, this is just one of them. Older people handing over money to fake police, fake grand children. Easy, you trust the police, no problem. Or it's family! Investment schemes and the promise of a better, easier life. You hand over your money because someone, somewhere you trust told you they are legit. And often, it's not even about money. All the weird conspiracies people believe in. Because someone made you trust them. All of a sudden you behave like a crazy person. 

It's frigthening how easily human beings are influenced when vulnerable. And we all have our weak spots, which cons exploit. Greed, fear, loneliness, aging, it doesn't really matter. And once you start, it's hard to stop even if your alarm bells and your regrets are ringing loudly. Because now you would have to admit that you were duped. And considering how quick we are to judge people for this, that's a really difficult thing to admit. Easier to stay in denial and hope that's not what happened.

I should say I haven't seen it yet. I have a friend who knows two women who have been scammed by online daters they never even met. So, you don't even need to go to all that effort. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by supposebly

[Sheenieb]

On 2/4/2022 at 11:14 PM, Irlandesa said:

I am curious about Ayleen, though.  She said she had dated him for 14 months.  That's a long time.  I wonder if he genuinely liked her and wanted to keep her around before squeezing her out. 

 

Since he's incapable of being honest, I doubt he really liked her. She works in the high-end fashion industry, so he probably kept her around for her industry knowledge and discount. 

Ayleen was my girl, though. Smart of her to get some kind of restitution. 

While it was baffling to me that these ladies took out loans and gave away their life savings to this POS, I tried not to be judgmental about it because anyone can be scammed. I do agree that the alarm bells should've gone off that this "billionaire" couldn't ask his family for money.

Speaking of family, since he lied about being a part of Leviev diamond family and scammed these women in their name, why hasn't the family sued him? If they did, it wasn't mentioned in the documentary. 

 

 

[SlovakPrincess]

I found myself thinking Cecilie was gullible, but then would remind myself she was young, good-hearted, swept up in what she thought was real love, and prey to a sociopath with a lot of experience doing this kind of thing.  I mean, I'm cynical and middle-aged, and would definitely be thinking "wait a minute, you were a successful diamond dealer for long before you met me, but suddenly I'm your only means of cash right now?  What did you do the many other times your 'enemies' targeted you?"  But I don't want to pile onto this poor woman, who may spend the next decade or so (or more) trying to pay off all the high interest loans she took out for him.  Yikes!

Also, the guy pulled out all the stops -- private jet ride and luxury hotel (wonder who was footing the bill for that?? some poor, as-yet unknown lady, I assume), "bodyguard" and "business partner" in on the scam, and the woman who claimed he was a good dad (lot of questions about her still!).    

Ayleen gleefully selling all his Gucci sweaters online was hilarious.  I'm starting to wonder if the only people who wear designer logo clothes are celebrities waiting to get photographed and scam artists trying to look rich ...  

Fell asleep right after watching this last night ...  and then I had a weird dream about traveling to Mexico to meet a man, having said man bring me to a luxury / designer store mall so he could shop, and then having the fancy hotel reservation he claimed he paid for mysteriously get messed up.  🤣

[ninjago]

Hey, protip that would have cut this off before it started: billionaires aren't looking for relationships on Tinder.

[Dr.OO7]

On 2/4/2022 at 5:55 AM, FancyRhubarb said:

I say this as someone who was scammed. Not for much but I was always the one who would scoff at the Nigerian scam emails and judge people that fell for it. It was so obvious! Until you're in it. People want to trust other people and what they are saying. And let me tell you, I'm fucking furious TO THIS DAY that I got scammed. It was only a couple of hundred dollars but I'm still so embarrassed. And furious. Did I mention furious? :)

I've been scammed too. Back when people sold and traded videotapes online and TWOP opened a page for this, I lost $120 to a Remigius Rozga (I'm naming them in case they're still at it) from Poland after they claimed to have the tapes I wanted. 

That said, I too find it hard to have sympathy for a lot of these people. I got ripped off for a relatively small amount of money doing something that countless people, myself included, had done successfully before. There is NO ONE who can claim that they ended up with millions from a Nigerian lottery, yet every day you hear about some nitwit who happily handed over thousands of dollars, often their entire life savings, in an instant.

I don't think "Ha, ha, serves you right.", but I also don't understand how someone could be so gullible.

On 2/3/2022 at 8:27 PM, Enero said:

Moreover, if this guy is a billionaire why did he need money from these ladies?

This is the reason I can't understand why/how people fall for this kind of trick. Most romance scams, the people admit that they're broke from the get go and offer up some sob story as to why they need money. This guy was supposedly a billionaire, yet suddenly he needs a handout?

[NYGirl]

I watched last night.  What I couldn't understand was Cecilie the first time they met ..when he said he was leaving town the next day.  She goes to have coffee with him and then spends the night and then the next day goes to a different country with him.  That was scary.  He could have been a murderer or something like that. 

To tell you the truth she kind of reeked of desperation. 

It's surprising to me that he was able to weed out the ones that could help him.

And yes I can't believe he's still living the life even after this worldwide notoriety

[Chaos Theory]

It’s the 1% rule.   Think about all those calls about debt collection or bailing out a relative we all get every day.   99% of us will hang up the phone before the first sentence is finished but 1% will hand over a credit card number before they realize they are being conned.   Are they stupid? No.   Con artist play on peoples high emotions.   This guy brought these women on first class first dates and then whirlwind relationships.  He floods their senses with the relationship of their dreams and then he starts sneaking in comments about “his enemies” and starts asking them for money.    One of reporters mentioned a Ponzi scheme.    He used one of his girlfriends credit cards to pay for another girlfriends lavish vacation.   It was all very clever.    

[PRgal]

15 hours ago, NYGirl said:

I watched last night.  What I couldn't understand was Cecilie the first time they met ..when he said he was leaving town the next day.  She goes to have coffee with him and then spends the night and then the next day goes to a different country with him.  That was scary.  He could have been a murderer or something like that. 

To tell you the truth she kind of reeked of desperation. 

It's surprising to me that he was able to weed out the ones that could help him.

And yes I can't believe he's still living the life even after this worldwide notoriety

That’s what I thought too.  If she was only looking for someone to spend the night with then there’d be no documentary.  

[Chaos Theory]

I think it was Cecile but the first woman to be interviewed talked a lot about tinder.  She also said something about Beauty and The Beast being her favorite movie.   She is exactly the kind of mark that Simon would go after.  She wanted the fairy tale.   She wanted to be Belle.  “There must be more then this provisional life….”    So Simon showed her the fairytale.   A First class hotel where he bought every item on the menu.  Everyone knew him.  He introduced her to everyone.   Then she maybe sleeps with him even though she might not do that after the first date but what the hell right?  Then the next morning he offers to take her with him on a trip…….and here is the first red flag and really where Simon knows if he has a mark or not.    And Cecile says yes.   So he brings on the big guns.   His ex gf who he had a baby with who tells her what a great guy Simon is and belays any lingering fears she might have that things might be going too far too fast.  Because if Simon is such a good father he must be a good guy…..right?    The perfect fairytale….right?    Simon is showing Cecilie so much more then this provincial life….right?  
 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[Dr.OO7]

On 2/13/2022 at 2:07 PM, NYGirl said:

It's surprising to me that he was able to weed out the ones that could help him.

Not at all. Predators of any kind have an incredibly disturbing ability to sense those who are most susceptible to their abuse. It's just like how a pedophile might target a child who's already been abused somehow, or an abusive boyfriend will seek out a woman with a history of bad relationships.

And what this guy did was hard core love bombing. Who wouldn't instantly fall in love with someone lavishing that kind of attention on them?

[LakeGal]

I watched this.  I was kind of side eyeing Cecile.  She agreed to get on a private jet and leave the country with a man she just met.  That is incredibly dangerous.  Her friends all warned her.  She talked about how many men she had met on Tinder and how she was very experienced with using it.  All it took was one man who told her he was extremely rich for her to throw herself at him.  We never heard what they had in common or why she thought he was a great match.  It was all about his wealth.  She wanted that rich lifestyle so badly she did not think it could possibly be fake.  She had really only spent a handful of dates with him when she was giving him money.  I feel bad for her.  But she has to take some responsibility for what she did.  

It is sad after everything he has done that he only spent a few months in jail.  He is obviously back to conning more people.   

[supposebly]

30 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

I was kind of side eyeing Cecile.

Me too. I'm not happy about it but I screamed at the TV when I saw she left on a plane with him after a one hour date. Sounds like she didn't listen to her friends at any time. He controlled every aspect of the first meeting. Time, length of the date, and the fancy hotel where she felt out of place. I don't online date much anymore but one of my things is: meet somewhere where I'm comfortable. And when. If there is a tight schedule then I can wait. If the person is interested, they can wait until I am comfortable.

He knew her mother's place after one month? I really wondered about her online dating habits overall if this is how she does things.

I'm however much more mad at him being out and about conning more people. I'm glad this showed up on Netflix.

I was more interested in Pernilla because I could relate to her much more. I was thinking that this could have been me simply because I would not have liked the lifestyle. However, gaining a good friend might have caught me emotionally. Fairytale romances and rich princes do not.

I had an encounter with someone once that in retrospect might have been a con artist. I was flat broke at the time, so there was nothing to gain and I never heard from him after a few meetings and admittedly great sex.

Still, this is much more elaborate than what I'm usually hearing about online dating con artists. Most of them don't spend all that money and still get people to fork over their money for flight tickets out of Afghanistan and some such. It doesn't necessary take all that effort. But it seems that's all he cares about. Designer clothes, cars, ridiculous dinners, and partying.

I loved Ayleen. I think she took quite a risk but I loved her chuckles when she talked about how he reacted while she was selling all his clothes. But he spent a lot more time with her, it seemed. I don't recall how much money she lost but I'm glad she turned this all against him. Even if she couldn't make all that money back.

[Ursula Parrott]

He seems to be doing just fine.

[merylinkid]

Of course he joined Cameo.   Because now he is (in)famous and he knows there are stupid people out there who will love to have a Cameo from him.   Remember people on death row get marriage proposals.   Really they should have a no felons policy.   

[MissAlmond]

Didn't Simon usually send pictures of Peter's "attack" at odd hours when the women were likely to be disoriented? I immediately noticed that, except for the "wounds” there wasn’t swelling/bruising on Peter's face/body. You would think a con man would hire better make-up artists. 

Also, I honestly was more shocked at how quickly Simon obtained passport information than getting the money.  

Edited February 18, 2022 by MissAlmond

[Ursula Parrott]

I read he apparently targeted Scandinavian women because it is easier to get unsecured loans in those countries. 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Ursula Parrott said:

I read he apparently targeted Scandinavian women because it is easier to get unsecured loans in those countries. 

Thanks for that explanation.  I was curious as to why that seemed to be the primary focus of this doc.

[Scarlett45]

I had heard of this briefly but had no idea what it was about. You guys make it sound interesting- I will check it out. 

[Scarlett45]

On 2/14/2022 at 12:29 PM, Chaos Theory said:

I think it was Cecile but the first woman to be interviewed talked a lot about tinder.  She also said something about Beauty and The Beast being her favorite movie.   She is exactly the kind of mark that Simon would go after.  She wanted the fairy tale.   She wanted to be Belle.  “There must be more then this provisional life….”    So Simon showed her the fairytale.   A First class hotel where he bought every item on the menu.  Everyone knew him.  He introduced her to everyone.   Then she maybe sleeps with him even though she might not do that after the first date but what the hell right?  Then the next morning he offers to take her with him on a trip…….and here is the first red flag and really where Simon knows if he has a mark or not.    And Cecile says yes.   So he brings on the big guns.   His ex gf who he had a baby with who tells her what a great guy Simon is and belays any lingering fears she might have that things might be going too far too fast.  Because if Simon is such a good father he must be a good guy…..right?    The perfect fairytale….right?    Simon is showing Cecilie so much more then this provincial life….right?  
 

I thought Cecile agreed to go to Bulgaria with him right after the coffee date. And then they slept together in Bulgaria. Not that it matters, it’s still totally odd to send a guy you just met your passport info and go across international lines with him. Hooking up with him that night in the hotel in the city where you live is more “reasonable” ; not trying to slut shame anyone, I’m only speaking of it from a safety perspective. 
 

If Cecile had enjoyed the coffee date but told him “no” to traveling to another country and “text me when you’re back in London”, he would’ve moved on and never messaged her again. 

[PRgal]

13 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I thought Cecile agreed to go to Bulgaria with him right after the coffee date. And then they slept together in Bulgaria. Not that it matters, it’s still totally odd to send a guy you just met your passport info and go across international lines with him. Hooking up with him that night in the hotel in the city where you live is more “reasonable” ; not trying to slut shame anyone, I’m only speaking of it from a safety perspective. 
 

If Cecile had enjoyed the coffee date but told him “no” to traveling to another county and “text me when you’re back in London”, he would’ve moved on and never messaged her again. 

She screamed desperate to me.

[Scarlett45]

I was thinking about all the women he scammed small amounts out of who realized they had been duped and just wrote it off. 
 

What takes it out of the realm of “expected” behavior is the vast amounts he needed and convinced the women to borrow. The convinced Cecile to commit fraud and claim to be employed by his company. I can understand falling for a guy and sending him a couple of thousand that you HAD in savings to help him because you love him, but I don’t understand borrowing 10s of thousands of dollars/euros, lying to credit card companies about your employment to get credit to give him money. 
 

I do think these women were brave to come forward. I am sure it was very embarrassing, and to have their faces out there-what he did wasn’t okay. They may have been naive/dumb, but that’s not being a criminal*- that’s just a mistake. He is a criminal who needs to be stopped.  

*lying to credit card companies about your salary to get credit is a crime- they are 100% responsible for their own part in that. 

 

To quote my mom “that young boy wasn’t cute enough for all that!”

[Scarlett45]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:22 PM, Sheenieb said:

Speaking of family, since he lied about being a part of Leviev diamond family and scammed these women in their name, why hasn't the family sued him? If they did, it wasn't mentioned in the documentary. 

Justly suing someone doesn’t make them have the money to pay damages. (I know you know that I’m just saying- it would be nice if it did🤣)
 

If they sued, and won (I am assuming they would have to show some tangible loss of business reputation/income because of his lies, which may not exist)- what would he be able to pay them with? Likely it’s not worth the trouble and the lawyer fees. 
 

Edited to add- I’m also thinking that he’s probably stuck home in Israel because 1. Part of his punishment for traveling on a false passport was not having a real one for x amount of time, 2. He has a lifetime ban on whatever airline he flew to Greece on, and the facial recognition software is much better now, a fake passport is more risky and fewer airlines are available to him. 

[RealHousewife]

It floors me that these women thought such a wealthy guy would need to go to them for money. I'd instantly think you don't have family you'd get the money from?!

But I do feel awful for them. I can't imagine losing a quarter million dollars. The guy is scum. 

[Scarlett45]

23 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

It floors me that these women thought such a wealthy guy would need to go to them for money. I'd instantly think you don't have family you'd get the money from?!

But I do feel awful for them. I can't imagine losing a quarter million dollars. The guy is scum. 

Yes! That’s my big thing too. If he’s so wealthy and connected why is he borrowing money from the likes of a “working stiff” such as yourself. IF he needed to borrow- he would ask a family member or a WEALTHY friend. Not someone who didn’t even have it. 

[supposebly]

I think with most cons, if you are able to step back for a minute and THINK, most things fall apart very quickly. It seems like the moment you aren't able to do that anymore, you have a problem. But that's the thing, it's all emotional reactions and decisions made under pressure. And I believe the longer you do that, the less you are willing to entertain the idea that you've been duped. We hear about the successful cons, not the many attempts where nothing happened because the target stepped back and thought about it. If Cecile hadn't gone with him on the first night, she might never have heard from him again. Still, she was a very extreme case, I hope.

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, supposebly said:

I think with most cons, if you are able to step back for a minute and THINK, most things fall apart very quickly. It seems like the moment you aren't able to do that anymore, you have a problem. But that's the thing, it's all emotional reactions and decisions made under pressure. And I believe the longer you do that, the less you are willing to entertain the idea that you've been duped. We hear about the successful cons, not the many attempts where nothing happened because the target stepped back and thought about it. If Cecile hadn't gone with him on the first night, she might never have heard from him again. Still, she was a very extreme case, I hope.

Yes I believe that if Cecile had not gone with him she never would’ve heard from him again. I also believe if the first time he asked her for money she told him that she couldn’t afford it, couldn’t he call his parents, he never would’ve spoken to her again. 

[ChelleGame]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:08 PM, Scarlett45 said:

To quote my mom “that young boy wasn’t cute enough for all that!”

Love. Her.

[RealHousewife]

1 minute ago, ChelleGame said:

Love. Her.

For me, no one is cute enough for all that! 

[IntrovertRed]

4 hours ago, supposebly said:

I think with most cons, if you are able to step back for a minute and THINK, most things fall apart very quickly. It seems like the moment you aren't able to do that anymore, you have a problem. But that's the thing, it's all emotional reactions and decisions made under pressure. And I believe the longer you do that, the less you are willing to entertain the idea that you've been duped. We hear about the successful cons, not the many attempts where nothing happened because the target stepped back and thought about it. If Cecile hadn't gone with him on the first night, she might never have heard from him again. Still, she was a very extreme case, I hope.

Very true.  I bet their gut was telling them not to do it, but they went against it. For me, I have learned to always, always trust your gut. I've told my kids the same as well.  Because honestly, if it seems too good to be true, 9 times out of 10 it usually is.  But I've always been very jaded and cynical.

[ChelleGame]

Interesting to hear the victim voice tapes. Sounds like he also duped entire families. He's a pig.

There was nothing interesting about him regarding his looks, his conversation, his style or even the sound of his voice.

Just not appealing.

The Dutch woman, Aylene, cracked me up. I laughed out loud when she said, "Cry me a fucking river".

I wonder if the other key to their 14-month relationship was the fact that she had access to luxury labels which seemed to be his jam.

Think the expression she used was "he was always covered in it". That made me laugh too.

He had so many style issues to me (don't like that look in general) that his outfits alone would've been a red flag.

On the serious side, he sucks. Can't believe he hasn't been banned from social media. His honed and predatory nature (Scandinavian women because of banking laws) means this guy will just reinvent to scam and scam again.

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, ChelleGame said:

The Dutch woman, Aylene, cracked me up. I laughed out loud when she said, "Cry me a fucking river".

I wonder if the other key to their 14-month relationship was the fact that she had access to luxury labels which seemed to be his jam.

I liked Aylene- I think he probably liked her, and her job allowed him access to the appearance of wealth which was essential to his scam. Pre-pandemic people in those jobs got all sorts of free and/or very discounted luxury items as a perk of employment, she could keep the women’s items for herself and give him the mens. 

[charmed1]

The documentary left me with a few questions. I wonder if Simon/Shimon’s abbreviated jail time in Israel was pandemic related. How old is he really? The dates of birth on his many fake IDs range from 1978 to 1990. Where is his family? His mother gave the impression that she’d washed her hands of him. Has he scammed her and others in his family? Who is Peter? All we learned was that he’s this douche’s “bodyguard,” but who is he really?

I wanted to scream at the journalists. Their Barney Fife-like surveillance skills nearly got that woman killed. 

[RealHousewife]

13 hours ago, charmed1 said:

The documentary left me with a few questions. I wonder if Simon/Shimon’s abbreviated jail time in Israel was pandemic related. How old is he really? The dates of birth on his many fake IDs range from 1978 to 1990. Where is his family? His mother gave the impression that she’d washed her hands of him. Has he scammed her and others in his family? Who is Peter? All we learned was that he’s this douche’s “bodyguard,” but who is he really?

I wanted to scream at the journalists. Their Barney Fife-like surveillance skills nearly got that woman killed. 

I'd peg him as around 1990 before 1978. He looks pretty young to me. 

[Scarlett45]

12 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I'd peg him as around 1990 before 1978. He looks pretty young to me. 

Yes I think 1990 is his real birth year.

 

On 2/24/2022 at 10:21 AM, charmed1 said:

The documentary left me with a few questions. I wonder if Simon/Shimon’s abbreviated jail time in Israel was pandemic related. How old is he really? The dates of birth on his many fake IDs range from 1978 to 1990. Where is his family? His mother gave the impression that she’d washed her hands of him. Has he scammed her and others in his family? Who is Peter? All we learned was that he’s this douche’s “bodyguard,” but who is he really?

I wanted to scream at the journalists. Their Barney Fife-like surveillance skills nearly got that woman killed. 

Im sure he scammed his family. He left home at 18/19 probably after practicing his skills on his family/community. He also seemed to be focused on pretending to be ultra wealthy, he was likely ashamed of his family of origin and was glad to get away from any reminders of who he really was. His Mom has probably cried a lot over him but is done.

[ctlady]

What I find disturbing are the ads for lenders and engagement rings while scrolling through these comments on the subject of using romance to scam women. 

[Scarlett45]

I’m rewatching for some reason- again I wonder what brilliant things Simon could’ve accomplished if he used his “powers” for good, rather than having the illusion of having a billionaire lifestyle he could’ve been a billionaire (eventually). 

[RealHousewife]

On 3/13/2022 at 10:24 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I’m rewatching for some reason- again I wonder what brilliant things Simon could’ve accomplished if he used his “powers” for good, rather than having the illusion of having a billionaire lifestyle he could’ve been a billionaire (eventually). 

I always wish this about all the bad people who have their smarts about them. Can't they work on making the world a better place instead of conning? Such a shame.