So cunning she managed to trick New York’s elite into believing she was a German heiress named Anna Delvey with a net worth of $90 million, the Anna Sorokin Woman’s Day meets on a frosty December afternoon is decidedly different.
There’s an undeniable elephant, or should we say mouse, in the room when Anna, now under strict house arrest, invites us in. An exterminator is on his hands and knees underneath her kitchen sink, searching for the mice she has seen race through her room.
It’s a juxtaposition to the life she once lived scamming money from rich people to fund shopping trips, chartering private jets and racking up hotel bills to the tune of $43,000.
She regrets her choices.
(Image: Getty)It’s been three months since Sorokin was granted parole while she fights deportation from the United States.
The Russian-born German scammer originally served three years in prison for a range of financial crimes, including grand larceny, her criminal exploits the subject of documentaries, podcasts and the incredibly popular Netflix miniseries, Inventing Anna.
“I feel like a completely different person,” Sorokin, 31, says, who is currently spruiking the idea of a reality TV series about her life to the highest bidder. “I regret a lot of the choices I’ve made. But I don’t get the option to go back and change it.”
She served three years in prison.
(Image: Getty)LIFE UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Away from the glitz and glamour of New York’s high society, Sorokin’s life seems surprisingly mundane.
When she opens the front door, she’s in a dark tracksuit, fresh-faced, hair pulled back. She’s just returned from a meeting with her probation officer.
Her fifth-floor apartment in the East Village is small but modern. A set of art prints line the white walls – an interesting mix of works including Graham Fortgang’s New York Is Dead photo series, along with her own paintings she created while behind bars.
“When you get out of jail it’s an upgrade,” she laughs, gesturing to her one-bedroom space. “I’m still adjusting but I always have something going on and I have people over [to visit] all the time.”
Our conversation is stilted at first, with interruptions coming thick and fast. First is an Uber Eats order, then the delivery of her dry cleaning, then a bout of incoming phone calls. Even post-jail, Anna Sorokin is in high demand.
“When you get out of jail it’s an upgrade.”
(Image: Getty)ELABORATE SCHEME EXPOSED
Sorokin is known as one of the most brazen scammers of the past decade, after duping friends, investors and bankers out of nearly $388,000 to fund her exclusive self-titled arts club.
When asked why people believed her scheme so easily, Sorokin says her “project just made sense”.
“You see what I was trying to do, now someone else has done it. It was a proof of concept,” she says, referring to the 2019 opening of a six-storey photography museum on New York’s iconic Park Avenue similar to her idea.
“It’s been a wild time. I’ve been trying to see everything as a learning experience.”
It’s certainly been an eye-opening few years for the wannabe It girl after she recently returned to prison, this time for a 17-month stint in federal detention for overstaying her visa. She was shocked that she’d be behind bars with criminals.
She loves New York!
(Image: Getty)Sorokin acknowledges she may have to return to Germany if her visa is denied. She could be “free” right now, travelling the world – as she wishes – but has chosen to stay in New York. “I love this city and I have so much going on here,” she says. “It’s hard to make plans because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
She admits she’s only seen parts of the Netflix series, which she reportedly laughed at while viewing. “There’s so much out there and it’s from everyone else’s perspective,” she sighs. “The ‘fake heiress’ thing just never happened. It was concocted to make [the case] sound more scandalous.”
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
As we chat, her ankle monitor begins to beep, signalling its low battery. “It needs charging,” she says with a shrewd grin, tapping it in response.
It’s just one of many conditions Sorokin must abide by while on parole. However, her ban from all forms of social media may just be the most frustrating for the socialite.
“I never used social media to do anything bad, it has nothing to do with any of my crimes, so it feels very frivolous,” she says.
She comes to life when discussing plans for her new podcast, which she has previously referred to as The Delvey Show, revealing she has already started recording episodes with businesswomen and artists – and we may even see the odd A-List friend.
As we wrap up our chat, the exterminator still preoccupied underneath the sink, Sorokin appears content with her new “normal”.
She seeks reinvention but doesn’t shy away from her past, plainly admitting “control” is her happy place.
After all, she’s still Anna.
