'Tinder Swindler' Walks Free in Shock Prison Release
A victim of the notorious 'Tinder Swindler' has described her shock and disappointment after learning that Shimon Hayut was dramatically released from prison in Georgia last week. Swedish businesswoman Pernilla Sjoholm, who claims she was defrauded of £39,000, spoke out after discovering Hayut's freedom on Friday.
Plea Deal Ends Extradition Battle
Hayut, the 35-year-old Israeli national accused of swindling women across Europe out of millions while posing as a wealthy diamond merchant on dating apps, had been facing up to ten years behind bars. His arrest in September related to an alleged £38,000 fraud against a Berlin-based woman. After two months in Georgia's notorious Kutaisi Penitentiary awaiting extradition to Germany, Hayut walked free when German authorities cancelled their arrest warrant.
The development followed what Hayut's Georgian lawyer Mariam Kublashvila called a 'fair and appropriate' plea agreement. Instead of serving prison time in Germany, Hayut received a one-year suspended sentence for the German fraud charges.
Victim Reaction and Ongoing Legal Battles
Ms Sjoholm, 38, told The Mail on Sunday she had been completely unaware he was set to walk free. 'I wasn't told because my case was not part of the German case, so of course this is a bit of a shock,' she said. 'I'm disappointed that he's not going to spend more years in prison - but he has done two months, and it's a plea deal, so he is convicted and that means he has admitted to his crimes.'
Despite her disappointment, Ms Sjoholm, who now lives in Stockholm with her partner and young twins, views the conviction as a partial victory. She emphasised that this marks Hayut's third conviction and that legal troubles continue to follow him.
Several cases remain active against Hayut in his native Israel, including a lawsuit by the wealthy Leviev family, who are suing him for falsely claiming to be a member of their family. Ms Sjoholm has been providing testimony for one of these ongoing Israeli cases.
She expressed hope that authorities in other countries where victims have filed reports would take action, specifically mentioning open cases in the UK and urging the Metropolitan Police to 'step forward and act a little bit faster.'
Ms Sjoholm also revealed that many people don't realise the full extent of Hayut's alleged crimes. 'What a lot of people don't know is that he also stands accused of committing not just romance fraud but crimes against companies and men,' she said. 'This is what he's been living on since he was a teenager, this is his nature, he's not going to change. Only the law can change that.'
Hayut's confident attitude was revealed in an exclusive Daily Mail interview conducted just hours before his release, where he boasted from his cell that he was 'unstoppable' and would 'change nothing'.
