She robbed New York's high society of their money, ended up in prison - and was ennobled by Netflix with her own series. Now Anna Sorokin has to fear deportation. She can buy her way out of prison, but being under house arrest threatens to lose an important marketing method.
The German-Russian impostor Anna Sorokin is released from prison. The 31-year-old, who teased New York high society as Anna Delvey and whose scams were filmed by Netfix in the series Inventing Anna, is said to have paid $10,000 in bail for her release, according to media reports. "We are very pleased with the court's decision today to release Anna Sorokin," said her attorney, Duncan Levin, according to The Daily Beast. The judge rightly recognized that Sorokin posed no threat to the community.
However, Sorokin is not completely free. It is said that she is to be placed under house arrest and electronically monitored for the time being. It has not yet been decided whether she will be deported from the USA to Germany. "While there are still a few hurdles to overcome on her release terms, Anna is excited to get out so she can focus on appealing her wrongful conviction," continued Duncan.
The 31-year-old was arrested last year because her US visa had expired. Since then, she has been taking legal action against the deportation. In 2019, a US court sentenced her to several years in prison for allegedly posing as a wealthy heiress and allegedly pilfering more than $200,000 between fall 2016 and summer 2017. Among other things, she is said to have cheated several bank loans and not paid for flights in private jets and stays in luxury hotels. Sorokin was released in 2021 for good behavior.
Under house arrest, Sorokin is banned from using her social media accounts, her greatest asset at the moment, by court order. So the fraudster began to draw pictures in detention pending deportation, which she then tried to sell via Instagram for five-digit sums. Her works were also exhibited at the New York pop-up gallery A2Z Delancey, accompanied by the call "Free Anna Delvey". The proceeds were said to be used to cover Sorokin's legal costs.
Judge Charles Conroy therefore sees no risk of absconding in the case of the imposter. "She will have to comply with the terms of release that will be imposed on [her], which combined with her status as a public figure will make it particularly difficult for her to avoid detection," Conroy said. In other words, the fact that she is trying to make money from her celebrity also prevents her from going underground.
