‘Love Con Revenge’ Star Cecilie Fjellhøy: How Much Money Did She Lose to the Tinder Swindler?

It was the documentary series that left millions stunned; Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler showed how one conman made millions of his victims by luring them into convoluted romance scams.

But one of his victims refused to take things lying down. Following her appearance in the now infamous 2022 documentary, Cecilie Fjellhøy received trolling, hate, and criticism for her actions (despite being the person who was defrauded)—but she also received messages from hundreds of women who found themselves in the same position.

Now, Cecilie has paired up with private investigator Brianne Joseph to try and help women who have been scammed out of thousands of dollars get their money back on her new series, Love Con Revenge.

“I never imagined my personal story would resonate the way it has,” Cecilie told Netflix ahead of Love Con Revenge’s debut. “Since The Tinder Swindler, I’ve heard from people all over the world who’ve been targeted by criminals hiding behind love.

“Love Con Revenge is a way for me to use what I’ve learned to help others heal, reclaim their voices, their power and their lives.”

But what is Cecilie’s story? Cosmopolitan UK investigates.

Who is Cecilie Fjellhøy?

While she’s taken her hand to TV presenting, Cecilie did not come from a glamorous, A-List background. Instead, she lived a relatively familiar and somewhat normal life, having grown up in Norway before moving to the UK in 2018 to pursue a Master’s degree.

In a piece written at the time, Cecilie admits she struggled when she first landed in London—at 29, she felt eager to have the exciting, big-city life she’d seen others had, but often felt lonely and struggled to make friends. No stranger to Tinder, having met two of her ex-partners on the popular dating app, Cecilie was flicking through potential suitors one night before she matched with Simon—the wealthy ‘prince of diamonds.’

Who is Simon Leviev, better known as The Tinder Swindler?

Simon Leviev matched with numerous women on Tinder and charmed them with his lavish, five-star lifestyle, showering them in gifts that were thought to be worth thousands. It was thought he could afford it—after all, he presented himself as the son of a renowned diamond mogul, Lev Leviev.

However, things quickly would take a dark turn—Simon would claim to have been attacked by ‘enemies,’ sending pictures of his bloodied and injured bodyguard as ‘proof.’. With his bank accounts now frozen, a ‘desperate’ Simon now begged his partner for money—which many would provide him with.

Cecilie was hooked into Simon’s lies; after a lavish first date which saw him fly her out to Bulgaria, the pair quickly became embroiled in a relationship. Simon would fly Cecilie out to the apartment he said he owned in Amsterdam, or would regularly drop in on her in London.

So when Cecilie received the message saying that Simon’s bodyguard had been hurt and that it was now too ‘dangerous’ to book things under his own name, she was only happy to oblige her generous boyfriend. It resulted in her maxing out several credit cards in her own name—and she quickly started to panic when it transpired that Simon had no intention in ever paying her back.

How much money did The Tinder Swindler take from Cecilie Fjellhøy?

In total, Cecilie says she was defrauded out of around $250,000—the stress of which was so intense, she was forced to stay in psychiatric care for three weeks to recover.

It is thought that Simon, real name Shimon Hayut, has swindled his victims out of $10 million overall.

Reflecting on her own experience, Cecilie has said: “I want people to get mad. To recognise that there are so many victims of fraud out there; maybe not with quite as spectacular stories, and maybe not willing to tie their names and faces to these stories forever, but they are out there.

“I know a lot of people will use my story as a warning about the dangers of online dating. But the fact is, I could have met Simon in any one of the bars or hotels where he hung out – it’s not Tinder we should be worried about. If anything, it’s the fact that someone can cheat and lie and live off others in plain sight and get away with it. That’s the horror story.”

Love Con Revenge is now available to watch on Netflix.