Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by Felicity Morris, Netflix’s ‘The Tinder Swindler’ examines the incredibly shocking tale of Shimon Hayut, also known as Simon Leviev, who can only be described as a fraudster that nearly ruined several lives. After all, the Israeli conman reportedly used the titular dating app as his personal playground to select women whom he could manipulate and defraud out of thousands of dollars for his own selfish reasons. Amongst them was Pernilla Ann-Marie Elisabeth Sjöholm, so now that we know her role in his ultimate unmasking, let’s find out more about her, shall we?
Who is Pernilla Sjöholm?
Pernilla Sjöholm first came across Simon Leviev on Tinder in March 2018, and she was immediately attracted to the fact that he was a hard worker as well as an avid traveler, just like her. She had recently parted ways with her fiancé of almost eight years, but she was ready to get back into the dating scene because she wanted a partner who could complement her independence. That’s what Simon seemed to promise in his profile, and that’s why she agreed to travel to Amsterdam, Netherlands, for their first date, only for it to end in them deciding that they’d be better off as friends.
As the months passed by, Pernilla and the “billionaire” actually stayed in constant touch, with them often meeting up at her base in Stockholm, along with vacationing in Mykonos and Rome as well. The fact that he had shown up in her city just for a cup of coffee after she had a bad day and his generosity during the holidays further made Pernilla appreciate who he was as a person, making their friendship closer than ever. Therefore, she agreed to help when he began requesting money in November, citing security concerns over his “enemies” trying to track him down.
Pernilla hoped to get herself an apartment from the savings she had acquired due to her work with properties, but since Simon’s well-being was more important, she transferred $30,000 to him. Then, she paid for several flights for him and his team so that they could go about their business as usual, yet every time she asked for her money back, he gave one excuse after another. That’s when she learned the truth about her “friend” from a Verdens Gang journalist, whom Cecilie Fjellhøy had initially contacted, driving Pernilla to work undercover with them before confronting Simon on a call.
Where is Pernilla Sjöholm Now?
Once everything was said and done, Pernilla Sjöholm realized that although she has never hated anybody, she hates Simon Leviev owing to the vileness and disrespect of his actions. Despite that, she has not let him hinder her life experiences and continues to travel as much as possible while still calling Stockholm, Sweden, her home. We should mention that she and Cecilie are now close friends, as evidenced by their social media platforms, which showcase that they vacationed together in Greece in the summer of 2021 before having a catch-up at Cecilie’s base in London in December.
“I was in shock from the decision to release him,” Pernilla said back in 2020, talking about Simon’s early discharge from prison in Israel. “I’m really disappointed by [their] justice system which gives a man like that a reduced sentence. He deceived people and left prison after five months?” The now-independent owner of Pernilla Elisabeth AB then added, “How can you give trust to a man like that, who escaped from Israel twice? A man that deceived and swindled women in Europe for hundreds of thousands of euros. Where is the justice?”
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