The con artist Anna Sorokin, whom you might know as Anna Delvey, was thrown back in the spotlight after Netflix released their show Inventing Anna starring Julia Garner. Produced by Shonda Rhimes, this mini-series is about the rise and fall of this faux heiress and how she swindled millions out of hotels, banks, rich friends, and more.
Garner had to get close to Sorokin to truly grasp the character and give the startlingly realistic portrayal that she did on our screens. In an interview with “Town & Country” magazine, the actress is gentle, charming and sweet. However, that soft-spoken nature can turn as soon as Sorokin wants something.
Born in the suburbs of Moscow in 1991, Sorokin eventually moved to Germany in 2007 with the rest of her family. From there, the globetrotter moved to Paris, where she started going by the alias Anna Delvey. She kept going by this fake name when she headed to NYC in 2014. While living in the city, she used her scam artist skills to live extravagantly, networking with (and stealing from) the elite while bailing on expensive hotel and restaurant bills.
She was living the dream up until 2017 when the LAPD arrested her in a carefully planned sting. One of the people behind the sting was Rachel DeLoache Williams, whom Sorokin stole from during a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco — $60,000, to be exact. Delvey soon was moved to Riker’s Island, and, just weeks later, was indicted for stealing nearly $300,000 through several scams.
In 2018, Delvey attempted a plea deal but it was rejected on the premise that she didn’t show remorse for her actions. In May 2019, she was sentenced to 4-12 years in prison and was required to pay restitution to people she conned, as well as $24,000 in fines.
Where is Anna Delvey today?
To the surprise of many, Delvey was released from prison on February 11, 2021 for good behavior. She served the minimum of her sentence and left four years after she went in. Unfortunately, just weeks after, ICE took her into custody for overstaying her visa, and she remained in their custody for a year. In March 2022, it was announced that the scam artist would be deported to Germany. However, she refused to leave to go to the airport. She dubbed her stay at the ICE detention center “boring” and commented that she stays busy by being on her tablet all day.
In October 2022, she was released from ICE with the condition of a $10,000 bail and no social media usage, but her story is far from over. If you’re wondering what happened after “inventing Anna”, the celeb just signed onto a docuseries that will tackle all that subject matter.
A new career as an artist
Who would’ve thought that her time awaiting deportation news would give way to a new creative side? In March 2022, her first art exhibit opened in NYC, dubbed “Free Anna Delvey.” It contained the work of over 33 artists inspired by the scam artist’s experience, as well as five pencil and acrylic drawings from Delvey. Each of her drawings came with a $10,000 price tag.
Her second exhibit, also in NYC, marked her first solo show and featured 20 drawings by Delvey herself, using only the pencils and pens available in the ICE detention center. A recorded message from the artist herself played, introducing her work and explaining how she had a background in studying fashion illustration.
The collection is valued at up to $500,000, and recently she’s been using NFTs as a way to connect with Inventing Anna fans. 10 of them will grant owners “exclusive access” to Delvey, including private phone calls with her. A dinner party series is also in the works, even though she’s currently under house arrest. Even so, she’s making Zoom appearances and keeping her career going strong.
Trying to shed her scammer persona
Although it’s what she’s famous for, it was never her initial goal. Today, she wants an opportunity to not be dismissed as a scammer but instead seen as an artist stuck within a rigged system. Although the Netflix show may be what she’s known for, Delvey hopes to make a name for herself outside of the negative narrative surrounding her name.
