Israeli Court Cancels Criminal Complaint Against 'Tinder Swindler' Due to Jurisdiction Issues

The private criminal complaint against Yehuda Hayut, known as the "Tinder Swindler," will be dismissed without acquittal, with Hayut agreeing not to claim any connection to the Leviev family or LLD companies. This resolution was announced by attorney Guy Ofir, representing the complainants, following a legal challenge raised by the court regarding the jurisdiction of the alleged offenses, most of which occurred abroad.

Ofir explained that the majority of the accusations pertain to acts committed outside Israel, and the complainants lacked approval from the Attorney General to file charges for foreign offenses. Although the complainants argued that some criminal acts, such as name changes and sending Hebrew articles abroad, took place within Israel, the court rejected their request to present additional evidence to prove this.

Since there is no appeal for interim decisions in criminal proceedings, continuing the case was expected to take two to three more years, potentially concluding only by 2030. Given the age of the allegations, the parties agreed to cancel the complaint without acquittal to avoid prolonged litigation.

Hayut's story gained international attention following a 2019 investigation by the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang and the 2022 Netflix documentary "Tinder Swindler," which became the platform's most-watched documentary and earned five Emmy nominations. Despite being banned from Tinder, Hayut leveraged his notoriety to build a career in entertainment, signing with a talent agency, publishing an autobiography, and selling personalized videos on Cameo for hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Ofir expressed regret that neither the police, prosecution, nor any foreign authority had taken action against Hayut, who has become "the face of Israel in the world," with all the implications that entails.