Pernilla Sjoholm is one of several women scammed out of large sums of money by Israeli conman Shimon Hayut, better known by his alias Simon Leviev.
Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, the "star" of the new hit Netflix real-crime documentary "The Tinder Swindler" managed to scam Sjoholm out of tens of thousands of dollars after developing a friendly remote relationship with him through popular dating app Tinder.
(i24NEWS SPECIAL: Pernilla Sjoholm, victim of the Israeli 'Tinder Swindler, speaks out)
When asked what gave her the strength to fight him and come forward with her story, Sjoholm replied, "To be honest, it was the feeling that I felt when I got a contact that this had been going for such a long time."
When asked about her hopes for the impact of the documentary, she replied: "Well, of course, the impact that I hope for is that he's going to jail for many years and that he never comes out."
"For me as a person and the way I am, I would never allow myself to go back to sleep and sleep well at night without thinking that I have done absolutely everything in my power to stop this and prevent this and so no one else would get hurt."
(i24NEWS SPECIAL: Pernilla Sjoholm, victim of the Israeli 'Tinder Swindler', Part II)
Sjolhom was asked how a person could get conned into giving up a large amount of money: "For me, he became a very good friend. You have to remember, when you are this type of sociopath, they're very good at adapting to become a person that you like."
She explains she felt an almost "instant connection" with Leviev and that he started to defraud her after eight months.
When asked about her hopes for the impact of the documentary, she replied: "Well, of course, the impact that I hope for is that he's going to jail for many years and that he never comes out."