Exclusive: Netflix’s Tinder Swindler stars recount transformation from victim to inspiration for women

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Updated 17 May 2022
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Exclusive: Netflix’s Tinder Swindler stars recount transformation from victim to inspiration for women

  • Norwegian-born Cecilie Fjellhoy and Stockholm native Pernilla Sjoholm to deliver special keynote address at Arab Women Forum
  • Defrauded by a con artist, they have hit back by speaking up about their experience of romance scams

DUBAI: Just swipe left. At least that is what many an indecisive Tinder user may have found themselves doing after the notorious case of the dating app fraudster dubbed the “Tinder Swindler” came to light in an explosive Netflix docu-drama earlier this year.

Despite being defrauded by the conman, Norwegian TV personality Cecilie Fjellhoy and Swedish business owner Pernilla Sjoholm are hitting back by speaking up about their experience.

The women will appear during a special keynote address titled “When women fight back” at the Arab Women Forum, held in partnership with Arab News, at the Palazzo Versace Dubai on May 17.

“It was very traumatic,” Sjoholm told Arab News, reflecting on her experience ahead of Tuesday’s forum appearance. “It wasn’t only about the money you have lost. You have lost the way you viewed yourself, how you viewed everything.

“I used to think about fraud as: ‘Oh my God, who gets defrauded? You must be of lower intelligence or something.’ And I’m very embarrassed to say this today, because of what I lost.

“I was 31 years old, and it was not the way I would have imagined my life to be. To lose everything. You also lose your soul.”

 

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Based on an expose by Verdens Gang, a Norwegian tabloid newspaper known under the abbreviation VG, the program unearthed the story of Israeli national Shimon Hayut, who allegedly posed on the dating app Tinder as Simon Leviev, claiming to be the son of a diamond mogul.

Hayut notoriously charmed women and persuaded them to loan him money, swindling an estimated $10 million from people across the globe.

According to reports, Hayut followed a pattern. After matching with unsuspecting women on Tinder, he would take them on a lavish first date and slowly build up a relationship, all the while dating other women.




Israeli national Shimon Hayut used the Tinder app to scam unsuspecting victims. 

Eventually, the fraudster would confide in them that a nefarious set of “enemies” were after him, persuading the women to send him money on the understanding that he would quickly pay them back.

After a nifty piece of counter-swindling by one woman, Ayleen Koeleman, who had been alerted to the con by the expose in VG, Hayut was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraud in Israel.

 

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However, Hayut served only five months behind bars before being released. He has never been charged for crimes related to Fjellhoy and Sjoholm, and denies their claims of fraud.

And the story does not end there. In a shocking twist, Hayut is now pursuing a Hollywood career, while the women he targeted remain in debt to this day.

“We were very disappointed,” said Sjoholm. “Unfortunately, there is no extradition from Israel to Europe. So he’s still there.




From 2017 to 2019, Shimon Hayut used the dating app Tinder to swindle about $10 million from women around the world. (Shutterstock)

“We don’t think that they handled this case properly and they should have. And, unfortunately, that is the way it happens in a lot of fraud cases. I mean, I just know the numbers in Sweden. They drop 96 percent of all the cases they get, because they have too much.”

Instead of consigning themselves to a life of victimhood, both Sjoholm and Fjellhoy are working to inspire women across the world to identify and fight back against romance scams.

“We have talked about a lot of the shame that surrounds fraud and I think that it’s so important to stand up and say that this could happen to anyone,” said Sjoholm.

“Because it’s so common that fraudsters get away with fraud due to people being scared of sharing their story. So I definitely know that we helped a lot of people and hopefully will help a lot of people in the future as well.”

 

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According to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime, the majority of victims of romance fraud are women. Sjoholm believes women are specifically targeted for their perceived emotional vulnerabilities.

“I think that we women are more emotional people,” she said. “These fraudsters work a lot with emotions, because it is a form of emotional abuse.”

The Tinder Swindler case has raised many questions about what responsibility dating apps ought to hold for romance scams and what more they could be doing to safeguard users.

“I don’t feel like there was a lot that the dating app could have done in our case,” said Fjellhoy, also speaking to Arab News ahead of the forum.

“I feel like just doing proper identity checks so you can’t catfish someone, for example. We see that they have some, but I feel like fraud is much larger than just what happens on the dating app. They take you away from the dating app. It’s just one avenue of many that fraudsters are using.”

Beyond dating apps tightening their safeguards, there have also been calls to improve awareness in schools so that young people are better equipped to spot catfishing — the use of fake accounts to lure victims — and romance scams.

“If you’re going to educate young people, maybe teach them more about what kind of different people exist in the world,” said Fjellhoy.

“There are some people that don’t have empathy, there are psychopaths and narcissists who will take advantage of your empathy and those types of things. But I think it’s important to not put too much emphasis on us as victims as well.”

Indeed, there is a danger of victim blaming if the responsibility for spotting scammers is placed on users, when the onus ought to be on clamping down on fraudsters.

“We didn’t do anything wrong here,” said Fjellhoy. “And fraud will always happen. But, when fraud happens, how do we, as a society, talk about how to stop it?”

 

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Nevertheless, there are several red flags that dating app users can look out for, says Sjoholm, including “love bombing” — the practice of lavishing someone with attention or affection with a view to influence or manipulate them.

However, Sjoholm believes that the very nature of social media makes it difficult to determine the truth about someone. “When it comes to social media, it is entirely about everyone wanting to show off their best side,” she said.

“Everyone wants to show off the good parts. When it comes to social media, I would say that 95 percent is just fraud in general.”

The mental health repercussions of romance fraud cannot be understated, as victims grapple with both the financial fallout and intense feelings of shame. “Regarding how your mental health is when you realize you’ve been defrauded, I think, for me, why I felt so low that I ended up in a psychiatric ward is that no one took you seriously,” said Fjellhoy.

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“And I feel like, for example, you go to the police and they just brush you off. And I tried to contact the banks and they told me: ‘Well, you still need to pay down the loans.’ And you’re still mentally low. It’s double — emotional and economic. You see no way out.”

As a result of her ordeal, Fjellhoy established the Action Reaction Foundation to focus on the mental health challenges of survivors and to lobby for stronger laws as well as policies to protect victims.

One of the lasting effects of the ordeal is an inability to trust others easily. “I’m still having trouble with trust,” said Sjoholm.

“I have more good days than I have bad days. But even on my good days, when someone does something very nice toward me, I can sometimes feel like there’s an agenda behind it. That someone is there to hurt me.

“I can still socialize. I can meet new people, but I’m having a very hard time to really talk to people. I don’t want to take away trust. You should be trusting people, you should be helping people, because that is what makes this world better. But, of course, this has been a tremendous trauma.”

 

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For Fjellhoy, it is also about having trust in the system to protect victims and take their claims seriously. 

“That the police will be there to protect you, that if you go to the bank, and you’re saying you’re being defrauded, you can get some peace and quiet to figure things out, that they will give that to us,” said Fjellhoy.

“Just so many things that could have made everything that happened afterward much easier, which would have made the fight easier.”

For others who have fallen victim to romance scams, Fjellhoy’s advice is to speak up.

“Please report it to the police, no matter what,” she said. “We know that it hasn’t gone our way. But they need to know about all cases so they can see how big it actually is.

“Please, report it.”


Rachel Brosnahan dons Zuhair Murad gown at ‘Superman’ premiere

Updated 23 sec ago
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Rachel Brosnahan dons Zuhair Murad gown at ‘Superman’ premiere

DUBAI: US actress Rachel Brosnahan attended the premiere of “Superman” in Rio de Janeiro this week wearing a gown by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad.

She wore a floor-length dress crafted from sheer navy blue fabric, adorned with geometric beadwork and sequins. The design featured a structured, plunging neckline with wide shoulder straps. The fitted bodice extended into a subtly flared mermaid-style skirt. 

Brosnahan takes on the role of Lois Lane in the upcoming film, directed by James Gunn. 

David Corenswet attended the premiere. (Getty Images) 

The movie follows a young Clark Kent as he navigates his dual identity as Superman and a journalist at the Daily Planet, striving to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.

Set to release on July 11, “Superman” stars David Corenswet in the titular role, with Brosnahan portraying the iconic reporter and central figure in Clark Kent’s personal and professional life. 

The eponymous hero has been described by producer Peter Safran as “the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way.”

The premiere was attended by Brosnahan, Corenswet and Gunn. 

Since founding his brand in 1997, Murad has gained international attention. His creations have been worn by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, Sofia Vergara, Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson on major red carpets.

He is one of a handful of Arab designers on the official Paris Fashion Week and Paris Haute Couture Week calendars.

Murad was recently championed by British Lebanese actress Razane Jammal, who wore a black ruched gown featuring a plunging neckline and tie detail at the waist from the designer’s ready-to-wear Pre-Fall 2025 collection to the launch of the Panthère de Cartier collection in Istanbul this week. 

In April, American actress Blake Lively and singer songwriter Nicole Scherzinger both wore Zuhair Murad designs to the 2025 Time 100 Gala.

Lively opted for a pink taffeta off-the-shoulder gown with a corseted bodice and train detail from Murad’s Spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection. Scherzinger chose a black off-the-shoulder sequined gown from the designer’s Pre-Fall 2025 ready-to-wear collection.


Lebanese dance troupe Mayyas take to the stage with Beyonce

Updated 24 June 2025
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Lebanese dance troupe Mayyas take to the stage with Beyonce

DUBAI: Lebanese dance group Mayyas, winners of Season 17 of “America’s Got Talent,” once again shared the stage with US singing sensation Beyonce for her Paris show of the “Cowboy Carter Tour.” The troupe performed alongside her during “Protector,” stepping in for her usual dancers.

“Honored to share the stage for the second time with the Queen,” posted the group on Instagram after the show on the weekend.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by The Mayyas (@mayyasofficial)

Choreographer Nadim Cherfan also took to Instagram to talk about the significance of the show.

“Proud to witness my choreographies come to life on the world tour of the biggest star of the century - @Beyonce - a dream turned reality on the global stage. During the darkest days of war in Lebanon, when everything around us felt like it was falling apart, we turned to creation. In silence and uncertainty, I poured my soul into these choreographies — never knowing they would one day shine on the biggest stage in the world.

“To the incredible dancers @mayyasofficial who stood by me through the chaos, your dedication and strength are etched into every step. This is our victory,” he added.

The Mayyas previously performed alongside Beyonce at the opening of Atlantis The Royal in Dubai in 2023.

“Beyonce has been my dream since I was a child,” Cherfan said in an earlier interview with Arab News. “She is the artist of my life, and working with her made my dream come true. Since then, it has been really hard to work with any other artist because, as we all know, the queen has set the standard really high. It was an experience I will never forget.”


Review: Toronto Arab Film Festival screens searing ‘Arze’

Updated 24 June 2025
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Review: Toronto Arab Film Festival screens searing ‘Arze’

DUBAI: The Toronto Arab Film Festival, running from June 20- 29, screened the scathing yet poignant Lebanese film “Arze,” directed by Mira Shabib.

The ambitious “Arze” — which means "cedar" in Arabic — follows the story of Arze, a single mother supporting her teenage son and love-struck sister through a homemade pie delivery business. In an effort to improve their lives, she steals and sells her sister’s jewelry to buy a scooter for her son to use for deliveries. But when the scooter is stolen, mother and son embark on a frantic journey across Beirut to recover it.

 

 

On the surface, “Arze” tells a story that resonates deeply with many Lebanese families caught in financial limbo. It explores the emotional toll of such hardship, with questions arising as to whether one should leave the country or give up remnants of a once-comfortable life to survive Lebanon’s shifting socio-economic landscape.

Beneath the family drama lies sharp satire. Even the film’s title that references the cedar tree, a national symbol of Lebanese identity, carries layered meaning. Like the character herself, that identity appears fragmented, constantly lost amid the country’s sectarian divides. This is where the film truly shines: Arze, portrayed with emotional depth by Diamand Abou Abboud, dons various religious symbols and disguises to navigate Beirut’s fractured neighborhoods.

 

 

Shabib excels in exposing the farce of sectarianism, insinuating that Lebanon’s religious divisions are not deeply rooted but socially constructed and performative. Arze’s ability to blend into different communities simply by changing her appearance highlights how fragile and superficial these boundaries truly are.

In this sense, the film excels in its portrayal of a fourth main character: Beirut itself. Through Shabib’s lens, we are taken on a tour of a city so diverse it borders on overwhelming. Yet this diversity, rather than being a source of division, becomes a stage for a pointed critique, one that targets society’s fixation on appearances and its preference for the performative over lived reality.


Michelin Guide to launch first-ever Saudi edition

Updated 24 June 2025
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Michelin Guide to launch first-ever Saudi edition

DUBAI: The Michelin Guide is set to launch in Saudi Arabia, marking a major milestone in the Kingdom’s evolving culinary landscape.

Organized in partnership with the Culinary Arts Commission, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture, the “new selection will focus on the bustling cities of Riyadh and Jeddah, while also beginning to explore the diverse regions of the Kingdom, including Khobar, AlUla, and many more,” according to the Michelin Guide. 

The announcement confirmed that Michelin inspectors “are already in the field” and will begin evaluating restaurants." The selection will be made according to the Michelin Guide’s criteria: “The quality of the ingredients, the mastery of cooking techniques, the harmony of flavors, the personality of the cuisine and the consistency both over time and through the menu as a whole.”

Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, said in a statement: "These past few years, our Michelin inspectors have been keeping a watchful eye on The Kingdom’s culinary progression and continue to relish the wonderful spectrum that this fast-developing country has to offer.” 

Mayada Badr, the CEO of the Saudi Culinary Arts Commission, said: “Our collaboration with the Michelin Guide marks an important milestone in celebrating the unique and diverse culinary scene of Saudi Arabia. It shines a light on the creativity and excellence of our chefs and restaurants, and invites the world to discover the distinct flavors and experiences the Kingdom has to offer.”

One Michelin star is awarded to restaurants for “high-quality cooking that is worth a stop,” two stars for “excellent cooking that is worth a detour,” and three stars for “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.”

Alongside the coveted star ratings, the selection also includes the popular Bib Gourmand category, a distinction awarded to restaurants that provide good quality food at a moderate price.

The restaurant selection for the inaugural edition will be unveiled towards the end of 2025. The selection will be revealed in three stages - on the 15th of each month from October to December 2025, the inaugural selection for Saudi Arabia will be unveiled on our dedicated digital platform.

The guide currently operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

The prestigious French guide actually began as a handy guidebook for Michelin tire customers in France in 1900. It was the brainchild of the Michelin brothers, who sought to “provide motorists traveling through France with all the useful information to supply their automobile, to fix it, where to sleep and eat, and which means exist to communicate, by mail, telegraph or telephone,” according to Christie’s auction house, which put a set of guides under the hammer in 2016.

The first edition saw almost 35,000 copies printed, and contained useful information for motorists, including a list of hotels, groceries, bakeries, hardware stores and instructions on how to fix and change tires.

In 1931, ratings featured the current system of three stars for the first time, with the definitions becoming clear and definitive in 1933. One star indicated a good place to stop on your journey, and was awarded to a very good restaurant in its category. Two stars meant excellent cuisine, indicating dishes of outstanding quality worth a detour. Three stars were awarded to a restaurant worth a special journey, where diners could expect to eat very well.

Although production of the guide was suspended during both world wars, the 1939 edition of the guide was reprinted by the US military in 1943, just before the June 6 invasion of Normandy the following year, as it was deemed the most up-to-date map available to the armed forces.

The push eastward is relatively recent, as until 2006 Michelin’s country guides only covered Europe. 


Theater and film experts Fatima Al-Banawi, Lana Komsany lend expertise to Saudi summer camp

Updated 23 June 2025
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Theater and film experts Fatima Al-Banawi, Lana Komsany lend expertise to Saudi summer camp

DUBAI: Saudi filmmaker Fatima Al-Banawi is set to take part in a two week summer program for children in Jeddah hosted by Alf Wad Productions.

The two programs aimed at children are titled “Little Theater Stars Camp” and “Camp Journey to the World of Cinema.” The programs run for two weeks.

The schedule focuses on teaching theatrical experiences by allowing children to write a play inspired by their ideas. In addition to writing a script, the participants will design the costumes and help in building the set for the production.

From lighting to sound and storytelling, the program will offer a holistic understanding of what it takes to bring a theater production to life.

Led by instructor Lana Komsany and supervised by Al-Banawi, the programs will conclude with a performance in front of a live audience.

 

Al-Banawi is recognized for her roles in “Barakah Meets Barakah” and the Saudi thriller “Route 10.”

She made her directorial debut with “Basma,” in which she also plays the titular role of a young Saudi woman who returns to her hometown of Jeddah after studying in the US. Back home, she is confronted with her father’s mental illness, strained family ties, and the challenge of reconnecting with a past life that no longer feels familiar.

“I really went into cinema — in 2015 with my first feature as an actress — with one intention: to bridge the gap between the arts and social impact and psychology,” she previously told Arab News. “And I was able to come closer to this union when I positioned myself as a writer-director, more so than as an actor.”

The film debuted on Netflix in 2024.

Meanwhile, Qamsani specializes in film and theater, with extensive experience in directing, acting, and writing, and is known for her work in creative training.

Alfwad Productions is a Saudi Arabia-based creative arts organization focused on nurturing young talent through performance, storytelling, and cultural education. The organization runs year-round programs that blend theater, music, and visual arts.