When Anna Sorokin stood trial in New York in the spring of 2019, charged with fraud after scamming hotels, banks and other members of Manhattan’s elite out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, she reportedly employed the services of a stylist to ensure she looked the part.
For years, Sorokin had been known as Anna Delvey, a wealthy German heiress with a taste for expensive wine, private jets and designer clothes. She had become a social media sensation; even during her court hearing, an Instagram account documented her outfits – a mix of designer and high street, and always her signature thick-framed glasses – throughout.
Despite facing conviction, the glamorous Manhattan socialite character she had invented for herself seemingly never faded. Prosecutors say Sorokin stole from others while pretending she had a fortune of €60m (about £51m) – wheedling her way into the upper echelons of society through multiple acts of swindling in 2016 and 2017, funding a life she should never have been able to afford.
Sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, with time served following her arrest in 2017 taken into account, she was released on good behaviour in February 2021. However, she was detained once again by immigration officers a couple of months later. Now in her early 30s, she is currently awaiting deportation back to Germany.
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