A convicted con artist who was the subject of a popular 2022 Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler, has been arrested in Georgia, local officials said.
Israeli Simon Leviev was taken into custody at Interpol's request after arriving at Batumi airport in the country's south-west, Georgia's interior ministry said on Monday.
Leviev, 34, gained notoriety after an investigative documentary uncovered a string of romance fraud and financial crimes, involving an estimated $10m (£7.4m).
He allegedly posed as the wealthy heir of a diamond mogul on dating app Tinder and swindled women into lending him large sums of money, which he never repaid. Leviev previously denied the allegations.
Authorities did not provide details of the reason for Leviev's arrest, whose real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut.
In 2019, Leviev was convicted of four charges of fraud in a separate case and sentenced to 15 months in prison but was released after serving only five months.
According to Israel's Ynet website, his lawyer stated Leviev had been traveling freely around the world.
I spoke with him this morning after he was detained, but we don't yet understand the reason, they said.
Between 2017 and 2019, Leviev's scheme involved luring women into romantic relationships while projecting a lifestyle of luxury and wealth.
His victims shared their experiences in the documentary, revealing how they were courted with extravagant gifts before being manipulated into helping Leviev financially.
Cecilie Fjellhøy, one victim featured in the Netflix series, reported giving him over $270,000 during their time together.
Last year, another woman, Iren Tranov, filed a lawsuit against Leviev in Israel, claiming he owed her 414,000 shekels (£91,000) for loans he never repaid.
Leviev has consistently denied the accusations against him in the documentary.
A former girlfriend, Kate Konlin, described experiencing emotional and physical abuse during their relationship, detailing an incident where she sustained injuries during an argument.
Leviev, however, denied ever physically harming any woman.
The Tinder Swindler became Netflix's most-watched documentary in over 90 countries upon its release in February 2022.
