Jump to content

Anna Sorokin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Firefly (talk | contribs) at 18:07, 22 May 2021 (→‎Life as a fake heiress and fraud offenses: ce). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Anna Sorokin
Анна Сорокина
Born
Anna Sorokina[3]

(1991-01-23) January 23, 1991 (age 33)
Domodedovo, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Other namesAnna Delvey
CitizenshipGerman[4]
Criminal statusNYSDOC #19G0366; released, February 2021
Conviction(s)April 25, 2019
Criminal chargeGrand larceny, second-degree larceny, theft of services[1][2]
Penalty4 to 12 years imprisonment, $24,000 fine, $199,000 restitution, deportation to Germany

Anna Sorokin (Russian: Анна Сорокина;[3] born January 23, 1991)[5] is a Russian-born German[4] woman who gained notoriety for her singular role in a fraud scandal. She moved to New York City in 2016 and pretended to be a wealthy German heiress under the name Anna Delvey. In 2019, she was convicted of multiple counts of attempted grand larceny, theft of services, and larceny in the second degree for defrauding New York hotels and wealthy acquaintances.

Sorokin's story was widely reported on for her ability to blend into social circles. As of 2019, television adaptions of her story are in development at Netflix and HBO. The Netflix drama is entitled Inventing Anna, created and produced by Shonda Rhimes.

Early life and education

Domodedovo in 2010, the town where Sorokin was born and lived until age 16 (1991–2007)

Anna Sorokin was born in Domodedovo,[3] a working-class satellite town southeast of Moscow,[6] in 1991. She was one of two children in the family.[3] Her father, Vadim Sorokin, worked as a truck driver, while her mother owned a small convenience store before becoming a housewife.[3] The family moved to Germany in 2007, when Anna was 16. She attended the gymnasium in Eschweiler and was described by classmates as a quiet girl who had a difficult time with the German language.[7]

Anna graduated from high school in 2011 and moved to London to attend Central Saint Martins, but she dropped out and returned to Germany. She worked as an intern at a public relations firm before moving to Paris to perform an internship for the French fashion magazine Purple. At that time, she started calling herself Anna Delvey; her parents have said that they "do not recognize the surname". She then moved to New York City in 2016.[7]

Life as a fake heiress and fraud offenses

After moving to New York City, Sorokin told new friends and acquaintances that she had a €60 million trust fund (approximately $70,000,000 in 2016) that was held in overseas banks and would cover her lavish hotel stays and lifestyle.[8] The story about how her family had acquired the money changed multiple times and included having a father who was a diplomat, an oil executive, or solar panel magnate.[9] Many who knew her as an heiress were told about her attempts to set up an art foundation that was funded by a family trust, and her plan to lease the historic Church Missions House as a multi-purpose studio and events space.[10]

Sorokin's primary and most lucrative offense was the defrauding of City National Bank. In November 2016, she submitted a falsified loan application purporting to show that she had access to around €60 million stored in Swiss bank accounts. City National Bank declined to extend credit, and she took the loan application to another firm, Fortress Investment Group. Fortress agreed to consider the application if Sorokin paid $100,000 to cover legal expenses. To obtain this money, Sorokin returned to City National Bank and convinced an employee to grant her a temporary overdraft facility for that amount, on the promise that it would quickly be repaid.[7]

When Fortress attempted to verify Sorokin's assets by sending representatives to Switzerland in person, she withdrew the loan application to prevent further scrutiny. The portion of the overdraft not spent by Fortress as part of the due diligence process was returned to Sorokin and used for personal expenses.[7] Sorokin checked into the 11 Howard hotel in SoHo in February 2017, and quickly became known by the hotel staff as a generous cash tipper, frequently giving staff hundreds of dollars for simple tasks. After management discovered that there was no credit card on file for Sorokin, they insisted that she settle her $30,000 bill. Sorokin had a bottle of 1975 Dom Perignon champagne delivered to the concierge desk in an attempt to keep the staff on her side, however hotel policy prevented the staff from keeping the gift.[7]

In April 2017, Sorokin deposited $160,000 worth of fraudulent checks into her Citibank account, of which she was able to retrieve $70,000 in usable funds.[5] She then wired a portion of these funds to 11 Howard to cover the outstanding bill. However, as she still refused to provide a credit card, the hotel evicted her.[7]

Sorokin invited three friends on a supposedly "all-expenses-paid" trip to Marrakesh, Morocco in May 2017, supposedly because she needed to 'reset' her ESTA. While there, Sorokin convinced one of her companions, Rachel DeLoache Williams, to pay for their stay and for items purchased while there, with a promise to reimburse her via wire transfer. Despite repeated promises from Sorokin, no wire transfer materialised.[10]

Upon returning from Morocco in May Sorokin moved to the Beekman Hotel, again managing to book without leaving a credit card on file. Around three weeks later, having built up a bill of $11,518 and failing to pay despite repeated promises, the Beekman also evicted her. She went on to stay at the W New York Union Square where she attempted a similar scam, however she was again evicted after only two days. The Beekman and the W hotels went on to press charges against Sorokin for theft of services.[11] At this point Sorokin was also independently under investigation by the New York County District Attorney’s Office for the instances of bank fraud.[10]

Arrest

In 2017, Sorokin was arrested on six charges of grand larceny for allegedly scamming wealthy New York City business acquaintances and several hotels.[12][13] According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office, the thefts totalled approximately $275,000.[5]

Sorokin initially faced three counts of misdemeanor theft of services due to complaints regarding stays at the Beekman Hotel and the W Downtown as well as a meal at the Parker Méridien hotel in New York.[14]

Trial

On December 18, 2018, Sorokin appeared in New York City Criminal Court and rejected a plea deal that would have her released from jail and deported back to Germany in early 2019. Sorokin decided to go to trial and a March 20, 2019, date was initially set by Judge Diane Kiesel.[15] Jury selection began during the week of March 17. On April 25, 2019, a jury found Sorokin guilty of second-degree larceny, theft of services and one count of first-degree attempted grand larceny.[1] Sorokin was found not guilty on another charge of attempted grand larceny in the first degree for an attempted $22 million loan she tried to procure and a charge of theft of $60,000 for a Morocco trip.[1] ICE has confirmed that she will be deported at some point due to her visa waiver overstay.[16]

During the trial, the prosecutor said Sorokin seemed to "revel at the plight of her victims" and that she "showed more concern for her attire than the emotions of those she hurt."[17] Her defense attorney attempted to humanize her, claiming that she had been buying time to pay back all the debt, and attempted to portray her as an entrepreneur and even compared her to Frank Sinatra, claiming they both created their own opportunities in New York.[8]

Sentence

On May 9, 2019, Sorokin was given a sentence of 4 to 12 years in state prison, fined $24,000, and ordered to pay restitution of about $199,000. After serving her sentence, she will face deportation to Germany.[18][19][20]

Sorokin was incarcerated at Rikers Island during the trial. After the trial, Sorokin, New York State Department of Corrections #19G0366, was initially housed at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility before being transferred to Albion Correctional Facility.[21][22] She was released from prison on February 11, 2021.[23] In March 2021, she was taken into custody in the US by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be deported to Germany after overstaying her visa.[24]

Reactions to her conviction

Writing for The New York Times, known critic Ginia Bellafante argued that Sorokin's prosecution and conviction is an example of women being punished more harshly for white-collar crimes than men.[2] She compared the prosecution of Sorokin to the conviction of Bridget Anne Kelly in the Fort Lee lane closure scandal, highlighting that Kelly received a far higher sentence than David Wildstein who was also involved in the scandal.[2] Bellafante also criticized New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. for being biased against women by celebrating Sorokin's conviction on Twitter, when in the past he has declined to prosecute men accused of far more serious crimes, including Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Harvey Weinstein.[2]

Popular culture representation

In 2018, New York magazine published a profile about her life, business dealings, and arrest.[7] Shonda Rhimes acquired the rights to the New York profile and is developing a Netflix series based on it, starring Julia Garner.[25][22] Lena Dunham is working on a separate project about Sorokin for HBO, based on the account of Rachel DeLoache Williams, a witness in the trial and former photo editor at Vanity Fair.[26]

A book written by Williams, entitled My Friend Anna, was published in July 2019 by Gallery Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), as well as by Quercus in the UK and Goldmann in Germany, and goes in depth about the time that Williams spent in connection with Sorokin.[27] Sorokin herself is also writing books about the time spent as a fake heiress, and told reporters that she is planning two memoirs: one to span the time that she spent in New York and one about the time she spent in Rikers.[28]

A partially dramatized podcast series about Anna Sorokin under the title Fake Heiress was presented by BBC Radio 4 in December 2019.[29]

In 2021, it was reported that a play called Anna X inspired by Sorokin's time as a con artist will open at the Harold Pinter Theatre, a West End Theatre, later in the year as part of its "RE:EMERGE" season which will present a series of plays in the spring season that will deal with “urgent issues integral to rebuilding our society” such as structural inequality, the climate emergency, and issues raised by the Sorokin's case. The play is written by Joseph Charlton and will be directed by Daniel Raggett with it being previously performed at the Vault festival with a different cast. The new cast will star Emma Corrin as Sorokin or rather the "Anna" character with Nabhaan Rizwan also starring as "Ariel" with Corrin having promoted the play with a post on her Instagram account.[30][31]

References

  1. ^ a b c Ransom, Jan; Palmer, Emily (April 25, 2019). "Fake Heiress Who Swindled N.Y.'s Elite Is Found Guilty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Bellafante, Ginia (May 3, 2019). "Are Women Taking the Cosmic Fall for Male Greed?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Лялин, Роман (April 11, 2019). "Дочь дальнобойщика обманула банки и бизнесменов в США на 17 миллионов рублей" [Trucker's daughter stole 17 million rubles from banks and businessmen in the United States]. Комсомо́льская пра́вда (in Russian). Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Binding, Lucia (April 26, 2019). "Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin convicted of fraud after bankrolling lavish lifestyle". Sky News. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "DA Vance Announces Indictment of Repeat Scammer for Multiple Thefts Totaling $275,000". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  6. ^ Ranosa, Ted (April 28, 2019). "Fake German Heiress Anna Sorokin Convicted of Fraud After Fooling Banks and Scamming New York's Elite". Tech Times. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Pressler, Jessica (May 28, 2018). "How an Aspiring 'It' Girl Tricked New York's Party People — and Its Banks". The Cut. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "NY jury hears conflicting portrayals of fake German heiress Anna Sorokin". North Jersey. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Kotinsky, Dave (March 27, 2019). "A fake heiress bilked NYC socialites for years. Then the elaborate hoax unraveled". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c Williams, Rachel DeLoache. ""She Paid for Everything": How a Fake Heiress Made My $62,000 Disappear". The Hive. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Dickson, E. J. (March 29, 2019). "Who Is Anna Sorokin, a.k.a. Anna Delvey, the Alleged Soho Grifter?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Williams, Rachel DeLoache (April 13, 2018). ""She Paid for Everything": How a Fake Heiress Made My $62,000 Disappear". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  13. ^ Brown, Ruth (May 29, 2018). "Wannabe socialite claims Rikers isn't that bad". New York Post. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  14. ^ Rosenberg, Rebecca (July 31, 2017). "Wannabe socialite busted for skipping out on pricey hotel bills". New York Post. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Noah (December 18, 2018). "Accused socialite con artist rejects plea, heads to trial". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  16. ^ Matthews, David (March 23, 2019). "Socialite scammer Anna Delvey will get deported back to Germany if she isn't convicted". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ^ "Con artist who passed herself off as wealthy heiress sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison". www.cbsnews.com.
  18. ^ González-Ramírez, Andrea. "Fake German Heiress Anna Delvey Sentenced To 4-12 Years In Prison". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  19. ^ Ransom, Jan (May 9, 2019). "Sorokin, Who Swindled N.Y.'s Elite, Is Sentenced to 4 to 12 Years in Prison". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  20. ^ "Anna Sorokin: Fake heiress apologises as she is sentenced". BBC News. May 9, 2019. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  21. ^ Shamsian, Jacob. "A Vanity Fair photo editor who says she was scammed by 'SoHo grifter' Anna Delvey wrote a book — and it finally explains how she was caught". Insider. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Pavia, Lucy (November 5, 2019). "The Anna Delvey Netflix drama has cast its leading lady". Evening Standard. Retrieved December 16, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Anna Sorokin: Fake heiress released from US prison". BBC News. February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  24. ^ "Anna Sorokin: Fake heiress detained by US immigration authorities". BBC News. April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  25. ^ Otterson, Debra Birnbaum, Joe (June 8, 2018). "Shonda Rhimes Sets Anna Delvey Series as First Netflix Project". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Petski, Denise;Andreeva, Nellie (August 21, 2019). "Lena Dunham Launches Production Company Under HBO Deal". Deadline. Retrieved September 16, 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Dawson, Mackenzie (July 27, 2019). "Dishy New Memoir Exposes 'Fake Heiress' Anna Sorokin". New York Post. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  28. ^ Italiano, Laura (May 10, 2019). "Fake heiress Anna Sorokin: I'd be lying if I said I was sorry". New York Post. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  29. ^ "My Anna Delvey story: Strange encounters with a fake heiress". BBC News. BBC. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  30. ^ "Sonia Friedman unveils season of West End plays for 'bold new world'". the Guardian. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  31. ^ Dazed (March 12, 2021). "Emma Corrin is starring as fashion scam artist Anna Delvey in a new play". Dazed. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anna_Sorokin&oldid=1024532377"