Shimon Hayut, more infamously known as the "Tinder Swindler," is being sued by the Leviev family.
The subject of a mega-popular Netflix true-crime documentary, Hayut was accused of pretending to be a member of the Leviev family to attract women on the dating app Tinder, before allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims.
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In a statement to E! News, Chagit Leviev, the daughter of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev and an heiress to the family's fortune, said the multi-million dollar lawsuit aims to get Simon Leviev (born Shimon Hayut) to "face justice and get the sentence he deserves."
"Shimon Hayut is a fraud who stole our family's identity and has tried to exploit our good name to con victims out of millions of dollars," Leviev told E! News on Feb 28. "He has no relation to the Leviev family and has no affiliation with our company LLD Diamonds."
She continued: "I am relieved that his real identity and actions have been globally exposed, and hopefully this will bring an end to his unscrupulous actions."
While Chagit Leviev is not listed as a plaintiff in the suit, her relatives Zevulun Leviev, Ayelet Leviev Jacobson, Ruthy Leviev Yelizerov and Hagit Sofiev Leviev are, along with company LLD Diamonds USA, LLC, according to the filing, E! News reported.
The lawsuit filed in Tel Aviv stated that Hayut "has been making false representations as being the son of Lev Leviev and receiving numerous benefits [including material ones]," per the suit. The documents also state that Hayut "defrauded, cheated, conned, falsified, and hurt women, men and businesses" around the world while "impersonating" as a member of their family and using their "wealthy" reputation.
The family alleged that Hayut took "without permission" a photo of Lev Leviev and Ayelet Leviev Jacobson and used Photoshop to edit himself into the family shot. Per the suit, "He presented the 'fixed' photo to women and men as proof of being a Leviev family member, thereby making a misrepresentation that he is a part of the family, and did so to generate personal profit and mislead the public."
Accusations in the lawsuit include defamation, invasion of privacy and breach of trademarks. The Leviev family said that Hayut's "despicable actions" defame and "humiliate" them.
Attorney Guy Ophir, who represents the Leviev family, told E! News this legal action is only the beginning of a number of lawsuits.
"In the next [phase] we will file a monetary suit against [Hayut] and any other affiliate that will work with him, including some websites that have joint ventures with [Hayut] and/or have offered to buy cameos from him," the lawyer said. "Anyone that will try to capitalize from this scheme will be sued."
In response to the filing, a representative for Hayut told E! News: "Simon believes the family is just trying to insert themselves in the narrative for publicity after the show's success."
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They added, "Simon also legally changed his name in 2015 and looks forward to this getting thrown out in court."
In an interview with Inside Edition earlier this month, in which used his alternative name Simon Leviev, he denied any wrongdoing.
"I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder," he told the online US outlet. "I am not a Tinder Swindler," he added. "I was surprised how many girls wanted me and how many girls offered to travel to meet me without them knowing me," he said. "I'm not this monster that everybody has created."
"I'm not a fraud and I'm not a fake," he told Inside Edition. "People don't know me so they cannot judge me. I'm the biggest gentleman in the world."
