
A lot of women thought they met the perfect guy when they matched with Simon Leviev on Tinder: after all, who could resist an extraordinarily average looking—but seemingly well educated and admittedly very charming—billionaire? The only downside is that Simon’s “enemies” are after him. His accounts are frozen. His credit cards are being traced. Therefore, he needs to borrow $50,000 immediately. If it sounds like a typical catfishing story, that’s because you’ve only heard the beginning. Simon Leviev has reportedly swindled an estimated $10 million out of myriad people—and Simon’s swindling isn’t just limited to women who were romantically involved with him. Allegedly, Simon has also swindled friends, employers, and other associates out of money. Thanks to the Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, many are wondering, do the women Simon Leviev swindled have a valid claim against him?
A Fraud Claim
If this occurred in The United States, the women featured in The Tinder Swindler would likely have a civil claim against Simon Leviev for at least fraud, assuming all of their allegations are true. The success of the ladies’ lawsuit would depend on a lot of factors including—but not limited to—the following: what kind of evidence they had, how much evidence they had, the amount of assets Leviev had, and the lawyers’ ability to locate Leviev. Since Moxie Law Group doesn’t handle fraud, we won’t speculate on how successful their claim would be. However, we can speculate on whether or not these ladies would have a personal injury claim in the United States.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
Negligent infliction of emotional distress occurs when the defendant knows, or reasonably should have known that their conduct would emotionally distress the plaintiff. The plaintiff would also have to prove that, not only has the defendant’s conduct emotionally distressed them, but also placed them in the zone of danger. Simon supposedly told the women he swindled that his “enemies” were after him on multiple occasions, and intended to do physical harm to him and those close to him. He allegedly led victims to believe that he was the son of Lev Leviev, a wealthy businessman with powerful connections. Due to this, Simon’s victims may have genuinely believed that Simon had some very powerful and dangerous people coming after him, and that they were in danger. Though Simon is not the son of Lev Leviev, and we have yet to find out who his enemies—assuming they actually exist—are, it may be argued that, based on the evidence the women had, that they genuinely believed that the threats were credible.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress occurs when the defendant engages in outrageous and intolerable conduct. In addition to outrageous and intolerable conduct, the defendant must also either intend to cause emotional distress, or act with reckless disregard for the probability of causing emotional distress. Lastly, the plaintiff must prove that they were emotionally distressed by the defendant’s actions. When the women began to refuse to give Simon money, Simon would allegedly send them aggressive, threatening messages. These messages may be used as evidence that Simon was attempting to emotionally distress them, or scare them into giving him more money. Also, it could be argued that Simon acted with reckless disregard for the emotional well-being of these women when he supposedly manipulated them into taking out large sums of money for him. Furthermore, since one of his victims, Cecille, checked into a psychiatric hospital after her relationship with Simon Leviev, that may be good evidence in an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
Can They Sue Tinder?
It would be difficult to sue Tinder for the damage Simone reportedly caused. This is because Tinder has created a platform for users to meet new people; Tinder itself hasn’t actually done anything to cause the women injury. Tinder simply introduced the women to a person who caused them injury. Furthermore, Tinder cannot be held accountable for how their users act when outside the platform. In a personal injury claim, Tinder would likely argue that they’ve taken reasonable precautions in ensuring that their users are protected from users they don’t want to communicate with. Not only does Tinder have a block feature, but you can also unmatch and report people who are bothering you. Tinder has also banned Simon Leviev from their platform. Though that may not stop him from simply creating another account, there’s not too much Tinder can reasonably do about that, and a jury would likely find that Tinder has taken reasonable precautions.
Personal Injury outside of America
The women featured in Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler would likely have a hard time filing a personal injury claim against the alleged con-artist, Simon Leviev. Even if they were able to prove that his conduct met the standards for negligent infliction of emotional distress, or intentional infliction of emotional distress, the legal advice we discussed in this blog only apply to the State of Utah in the United States. Depending on what countries the women are from, filing a personal injury claim may not be an option.
We Stand with the Victims
This is far from an ordinary catfishing story where a person sends money out of the country to another person they’ve never met. These women gave their savings and took on debt for a person they had met on numerous occasions and learned to trust. With private jets, international flights, designer clothes, luxury hotels, fancy dinners, and high-end cars, Simon appeared to be a man who could pay back the money the women lent him. Now, the women have lost significant sums of money and have started a GoFundMe account in order to try to get back on their feet. If you’re dating online, please be careful. Do not loan money that you cannot afford to lose permanently.
Can You Sue for a Cat Attack?
It’s not uncommon for people to change their path when they realize they’re about to encounter a vicious dog. But most people don’t think much of...
When You’re Personally Injured by Gas Prices
We all know that gas prices have gone through the roof. While they may be high, are they high enough to risk being set on fire for? You heard us...
Can You Sue If You’re Injured while Committing a Crime?
You’ve certainly heard of those cases where the burglar sues the homeowner for injuries they sustained while breaking into the house. And, like so...
Do You REALLY Need Car Insurance?
How’s it feel to check your account and see that your car insurance payment hit your checking account? Probably not great, huh? In fact, you may be...
What Happens after a Dog Attack?
Dog bites are no joke. In fact, the average hospital stay for a dog bite cost victims an average of nearly $20,000 in 2008. And $20,000 is a paltry...
Make Sure Your Fourth of July Is the Right Kind of Explosive
We live in such an amazing country, and many of our citizens choose to celebrate our country’s birthday with good food, lots of friends and family,...
Liability in the Uvalde Shooting
Liability in the Uvalde Shooting Our firm is committed to educating the public in order to promote safety. When you know better, you do better. On...
How to Be a Good Personal Injury Client
How to Be a Good Personal Injury Client We’ve written so many blogs about what to look for in a personal injury lawyer, how to find a good personal...
Tips for the World’s Safest Pool Party
From a drowning accident attorney Are you thinking about throwing a pool party this summer? If so, you’re probably wondering what you can do to...
5 Ways to Prevent Dog Attacks
You hear it all the time: “He was the sweetest dog; I can’t believe he just randomly attacked my cousin!” It’s a tragic thing from all sides; dog...