Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, the fake German heiress who bilked the cream of New York’s high society out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and inspired Netflix’s true-crime drama Inventing Anna, was almost deported from the U.S. back to Germany Monday evening. Sorokin was released from the upstate New York detention center, where she spent almost a year in the custody of ICE.
As retold in Inventing Anna, Sorokin concocted her alias as part of a scam to con wealthy New Yorkers out of their money via a scheme to set up a high-end exclusive club in New York City. Sorokin was found guilty of grand larceny and various other charges in April of 2019 and sentenced to four to 12 years at a minimum-security facility near Rochester. However, the ersatz socialite was released early on a “merit release” last February after serving less than two years of her sentence.
Sorokin only had a few weeks to enjoy her new freedom. ICE took her into custody soon afterward for allegedly overstaying her visa. As Sorokin’s best friend Neffatari Davis told The New York Post, “They told her that her visa had expired, but, instead of being deported, Anna — being Anna — said, ‘I’m going to fight this.’ She thought it would be a quick fight. I think if she was a plain Jane and not in the media, she would have just been deported.”
Sorokin is reportedly furious over the deportation and put in an appeal to remain in the states. According to Speigel Panorama, the faux heiress was scheduled to leave from New York to Frankfurt Monday evening, but her lawyers claimed that they were able to intervene. U.S. authorities have stated that Sorokin refused to leave the ICE detention center and are attempting to schedule a new deportation date.
Sorokin was born in Domodedovo, Russia in 1991. Her father was a truck driver. In 2007, the 16-year-old Anna relocated to Germany with her family. She then worked various small jobs in England and France before arriving in the States in 2013.
Sorokin then deceived those around her into believing that she was a wealthy European heiress with access to a $67 million dollar fortune. Throughout 2016 and 2017, she was able to obtain loans of tens of thousands of dollars, living a jet-set life of haute couture and luxury hotels. Sorokin attempted to borrow $22 million to supposedly open a combination gallery nightclub. Though the loan was turned down, she still managed to obtain $100 thousand for the product.
According to court filings, Sorokin made $70 thousand and royalties for her deal with Netflix, $30 thousand of which went to her attorney. According to Fox LA, the New York Attorney General’s Office has challenged the contract with Netflix under the state’s so-called Son of Sam law, which prevents criminals from profiting off their fame via entertainment deals.
Sorokin’s friend Davis told The New York Post that she believes Sorokin has endured enough. “She got out on good behavior and she used the money Netflix gave her to pay everybody back, she owes no money,” said Davis. “She’s paid for her crimes, she didn’t kill anyone. She did wrong, but, at the end of the day, there are people who have done worse.”
