Is LLD Diamonds real?
SIMON Leviev, the master conman from the new Netflix series, the Tinder Swindler, pretended to be heir to billion dollar company, LLD Diamonds.
But does the company exist and what do they have to say about Simon Leviev and his vicious ploy?
Is LLD Diamonds real?
LLD Diamonds and the founder Lev Leviev do very much exist in the real world - but they have nothing to do with the master conman.
posed as the diamond mogul's son, heir to millions.
He duped women out of their hard-earned money as he frolicked around Europe flaunting his stolen wealth.
The company is listed as being active since 1996 and is one of the biggest names in the business, headquartered in New York.
According to the company website, they own high-end diamond jewellery boutiques around the world, and large jewellery chains in Europe.
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Who owns LLD Diamonds?
Lev Leviev, "The King of Diamonds" heads up the Russian-Israeli world-renowned diamond cutters..
His parents, Avner and Chana Leviev, were prominent in the Bukharian Jewish community in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
But his family uprooted and moved to Israel in the seventies when he was 15, where he started in the diamond trade as an apprentice at a polishing plant and then established his own plant.
In 1992, he moved to Russia and took over jewellery factory, Ruis Diamonds Ltd.
He began to expand to eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.
He is also a major supporter of Jewish causes and sponsors many of the activities of the Jewish Learning Initiative.
He has a wife, Olga and nine children. The family spent a stint living in Hampstead, London, but as of 2018 are reported to be living in Russia.
What have LLD Diamonds said about Simon Leviev?
LLD Diamonds confirmed to that Shimon Hayut has nothing to do with the company.
A spokesperson expressed their sympathies for Hayut's victims and had "tried to exploit" their good name.
LLD Diamonds also said that his crimes had caused "ongoing confusion" about the company.
They said: "He is a fraud who has tried to exploit our good name to con victims out of millions of dollars.
"Our sympathies go out to his victims. His fraud has also caused ongoing confusion about our company.
"Nothing he has said, about LLD or anything else, should be believed."
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"As soon as we learned of the fraud, we filed a complaint with the Israeli police, and we hope that Mr. Hayut faces the justice he deserves."