ABC News Anna Sorokin speaks to ABC News.
Anna Sorokin, who was convicted on fraud charges for posing as heiress Anna Delvey, was released from prison in February 2021 but taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on a detainer six weeks later. Sorokin is now 31 and remains in ICE custody while she waits to see whether she will be deported to Germany.
Sorokin was born in Russia but lived in Germany before moving to the United States in 2013, according to ABC News. Prosecutors said at her trial that she used her fake identity “to swindle Manhattan’s elite, gaining access to exclusive parties, nightclubs and hotels,” ABC reported. She was accused of defrauding businesses of about $275,000 over 10 months, including hotels, restaurants, banks and a private jet company, the news outlet reported.
Her story is gaining popularity after Netflix released its 2022 miniseries, “Inventing Anna” on February 11, 2022.
ABC “20/20” also dug into the case in an episode, “The Sinfluencer of Soho,” which aired in 2021.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sorokin Wrote a Piece About Her Life Now & Her Time in ICE Detention
Sorokin wrote a piece published by Insider about her life today and the release of the drama miniseries.
“While the world is pondering Julia Garner’s take on my accent in ‘Inventing Anna,’ a Netflix show about me, the real me sits in a cell in Orange County’s jail in upstate New York, in quarantine isolation,” Sorokin began her piece.
She goes on to write that she had been self-sufficient — legally. She wrote that she paid restitution and says that the reasons she overstayed her Visa were “unintentional” and “largely” outside of her control.
“Did I mention I’m the only woman in ICE custody in this whole jail? Tell me I’m special without telling me I’m special,” she wrote.
Among her visitors at Rikers was Neff Davis, who got film credits and mentorship on the Netflix series.
Prosecutors Argued Sorokin’s Instagram Page Shows She Has Not Changed Her Behavior & Said She Should Remain in ICE Custody
An immigration judge ruled in April that Sorokin should remain in ICE custody, taking action that sided with an ICE attorney, according to Insider. The attorney pointed to Sorokin’s Instagram page, saying her posts indicate she had not been rehabilitated. The Instagram page, which uses the name “The Anna Delvey,” describes her as a “professional defendant.” It also says she is “reinventing Anna.”
The judge determined Sorokin should remain in Bergen County jail in New Jersey, describing her as a “danger to society,” her attorney, Audrey A. Thomas, told Insider.
Thomas told Insider she believes her client is being treated unfairly.
“I have two guys who came here illegally,” she told Insider. “One of them had 150 pounds of weed, got deported, came back illegally and immigration let him out. And they’re keeping Anna.”
“I have a guy who was charged with a home invasion, got out on bond, absconded, and then came back,” she added, according to Insider. “Then they caught him and immigration just let him out. And he has an open criminal case.”
Her Instagram page was recently updated. She posted a video February 14, 2022, and marked her location as the Orange County Correctional Facility.
Sorokin Was Released From Prison Early for Good Behavior & Placed on Parole; She Sold Her Story Rights to Netflix
Sorokin was booked into the New York Department of Corrections May 15, 2019, and released in February 2021, according to her prison record. She was released from Kings County and placed on parole, the jail record says.
Here is her prison record:
VINELinkAnna Sorokin’s prison record.
Sorokin faced trial on eight counts, and she was convicted in May 2019, according to ABC News. Her charges included grand larceny and theft of services. She was sentenced to spend four to 12 years in prison and served slightly less than four years before she was released on good behavior, the news outlet reported. She was also ordered to pay $24,000 in fines and $200,000 in restitution, ABC News reported.
Sorokin sold the rights to her story to Netflix and Shonda Rimes, ABC News reported. However, New York law prevents convicted criminals from turning a profit for their crimes, the news outlet said. She must first repay her victims with the money, which she claims she did. Insider reported that the rights were sold for $320,000.
READ NEXT: Rachel DeLoache Williams Now: Her Life Today After the Anna Delvey Con