Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Fake Heiress Anna Delvey Finally Set to be Kicked Out of US and Home to Germany Leaving Behind a String of Unpaid Bills and Broken Hearts

Episode Date: July 18, 2026

Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin conned her way into Manhattan society. Posing as Anna Delvey, a German heiress, she swindled banks, hotels, and friends out of more than $200,000. She forged checks to... get money from banks and charmed people into paying for extravagant meals and travel. Sorokin was convicted on a handful of grand larceny and theft of services charges. After serving her time, the 31-year-old was released from prison and is now fighting against deportation, but her may have run out.  Homeland Security is speaking out saying, "We look forward to sending her home soon."    Initially after her release, Sorokin landed a deal with Netflix for the rights to her life story, then began selling her artwork, and took her turn on Dancing With The Stars.  Joining Nancy Grace today: Wendy Patrick: Trial Attorney & Author of “Red Flags” Jeff Cortese: Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dr. William July: Psychologist John Lemley: CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Is convicted con artist Anna Delvey, remember the Russian heiress not, aka Anna Sorokin, set to be deported? DHS declares, quote, we look forward to sending her home. If they can find her real home,
Starting point is 00:00:32 That's right, you heard me. Is fake heiress Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorkin, finally set to be deported. The convicted con artist, her real name Anna Sorkin, guilty. In second-degree larceny, attempted grand larceny and many other charges after she ripped off so-called friends, also ripping off banks and hotels. as part of her own scheme to make champagne and caviar dreams come true on a beer budget. She's called the Soho Scammer, and she got four to 12 years behind bars, but she was released after around 24 months.
Starting point is 00:01:19 One month later, Delvey Sorcan, taken into ICE custody for violating immigration laws. Then she was released October 22 with nothing more than that. than an ankle monitor as she moved into a luxe high rise in Manhattan. Why ICE? Because the high-maintenance con woman came to the U.S. on a tourist visa 2017. She did not leave the country when that visa expired, making her an illegal alien from Germany. Now, she has made a mockery of our court system and the immigration laws for a long time, pretending to be a German heiress with a $70 million trust fund. That's not true.
Starting point is 00:02:05 She was born in Russia. Her dad, a truck driver. She moved to Germany when she was 16. Once she got to New York, she quickly began her grifting, skipping out on a nearly $12,000 tab at a Beekman Hotel, another $30,000 at the 11 Howard Hotel in Soho.
Starting point is 00:02:24 Forget about that nearly $70,000 vacation in Marrakesh, on a friend's credit card. Then there was the $20,000 at Richard Branson's Tony Casbah Tomado Resort in Morocco. It just goes on and on and on. Then Netflix keeps more misery onto the works by giving her $320,000
Starting point is 00:02:47 for the rights to her life story. And she became the media darling in a hit docu-series, inventing Anna. How did she do it? Let's take a little flashback. With an extravagant lifestyle and a seemingly endless supply of money, Delvey was an enigma that was made for the age of Instagram, always at the right place with the right people, living her best life, but with no apparent cause for her fame.
Starting point is 00:03:13 Her circle of acquaintances was fed various stories as to how she accumulated her vast wealth. Her father was a Russian billionaire, a Russian diplomat, an oil tycoon, a Russian antiques collector, or a solar energy capitalist. While many parts of Delvey's story were fluid, some things were consistent. Delvey made no effort to hide her internship at the Paris Magazine Purple and made it very clear that her dream was to open a Soho House for Art. An quote upset fake German heiress, Anna Sorokan, guilty of grand larceny after a life of fake ripping people off to nearly a quarter of a million dollars that we know of. Who would believe a Russian heiress and fork over thousands of dollars? And in court, she was more upset about her designer clothing wardrobe than she was about being found guilty. Now, that's unusual.
Starting point is 00:04:07 This girl, Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, somehow manages to con Soho Elite out of a quarter of a million dollars. Joining me in all-star lineup, Jeff Cortizzi, former FBI Special Agent, Wendy Patrick, California, prosecutor, author of Red Flags. Dr. William July, psychologist and John Limley, crimeonline.com, investigative reporter, John Limley, help me out. This girl shows up her skin is so pale, she looks like a ghost, and she's got this long brown hair, parted, usually slightly on the side, big glass, and the hair hangs down like curtains over her face. You can barely see the eyes, you know, the hair is so close down. I can't see her face. That makes me suspicious.
Starting point is 00:04:59 But who would buy into? My dad is a Russian billionaire. Give me your money. Oops, I forgot my credit card. What happened? Let's just start at the beginning. Well, Nancy, apparently a lot of people were just hungry to buy into this story. If New York City is a city of dreams, which we hear it called all the time,
Starting point is 00:05:18 Anna had enough for the entire island. She had longed to be a member of the upper echelon of Manhattan Society. Let me understand something John Limley, Crime Online Investigator reporter. Did you just call her giant fraud ripping people off tens of thousands of dollars, including one woman that took the stand, a working class person who goes on an all expense paid trip with her to Morocco, and then she gets stiffed with a $65,000 bill. Wait, are you calling that a dream? Wait, wait.
Starting point is 00:05:53 How dare you even say? One person's dream is another person's nightmare. I don't offend yourself with cliches. Don't. The American dream, my rear end, Jeff Cortiz, I call it something a lot different than the American dream. Oh, absolutely. I mean, this was a, at least on the front end,
Starting point is 00:06:11 a well-executed fraud. over the long term it didn't it didn't have the legs to remain sustainable though long term i mean she managed to pull it off windy patrick for you know what two years i forgot how long she managed to pull the wool over everybody's eyes going on trips to morocco staying at i think it's 11 Howard some ritzie i don't even know how you find that hotel in new york it's one of those places i don't think is even marked only rich people go there Wendy patrick what is what happened to john limley the voice of reason and he just called us the American dream. What?
Starting point is 00:06:47 Well, I think John Lindley, what he was talking about is there are some misguided, vulnerable people that really are subjected to social predators like Anna. And some people just are absolutely, you guys mentioned the glamour, the glitz. It's like they want to believe. And this fake it till you make it lifestyle. You know, nobody even took the time to say, show me the money, show me the funds, show me the corroboration behind your wild stories because caught up in the moment in an Instagram savvy society, people want to be in the company of people like Anna. And sadly, as a prosecutor,
Starting point is 00:07:23 I am just, we are just absolutely just terrified of people like this that are able to so easily infiltrate our social network. To Dr. William July psychologist, author of a dark night, he did acquit her off, which I was shocked about because this girl actually took the stand. Grand larceny for allegedly stealing $62,000 from a friend that she said, come along, I'll pay for everything on a trip to Morocco. Okay, I think they actually punished the friend because when you go on a luxurious trip to Morocco,
Starting point is 00:07:56 you stay in a five-star hotel. They went to spa treatments that were costing like $300 a treatment, whatever that treatment may be, laying in mud, getting their nails, whatever. are 300, I think the jury punished that friend for going along with the excess, Dr. July. Yeah, I mean, at worst, Nancy, what you're looking at in cases like this, at worst is a psychopathological level of narcissism. At best, what you're looking at is a person who has so much greed and desire to please herself that she doesn't care what the consequences are
Starting point is 00:08:33 for other people. You were asking earlier, and I just want to address what you were asking earlier about why and how can this sort of thing happen. We're all baffled when we see this, but it's age old. It's a tale as old as time. The Charleston comes in and fools everyone. So there's a part of people that are looking at this who want to believe this because they want to hang out with a person who has this kind of social, these types of social credentials, and they want to believe that she's an heiress so that they can be with her. And people are blaming social media. It's not the fault of social media. Social media is just a facilitator to the neediness of other people who want to believe and accept it.
Starting point is 00:09:17 Why, are you piling on everybody on the panel except Cortizzi? No, no. Thank goodness. It keeps talking about the Instagram Society. You know what? Instagram didn't have a dang thing to do with this. It was all missing. You've heard the chaos. Now you can see it. Hello. My gosh. Watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish. Right inside the free IHRRA radio app.
Starting point is 00:09:44 Gets the blood going up. Catch every laugh and eye roll on shows like the Tom Green Farmcast and park the bus. Now with full video. We're building a ramp for Tony Hawk. It's the same hosts and the same chemistry with all the hilarious moments you've been missing. Right on your screen.
Starting point is 00:09:59 Cheers. Open the free IHRRA radio app. Search video podcasts and tap watch. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Is fraudster? Grand larcenist Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorokin, finally headed home to Germany to make a living like everybody else?
Starting point is 00:10:25 What did we learn at her trial? Segment three. Will those banks, hotels, and especially her friends ever get paid back? Probably never. Anna Delvey's set to be kicked out of the country finally out of her posh New York high rise where she's been hidden away for months. But let's take a walk down memory lane.
Starting point is 00:10:49 Her parents, hardworking middle class people that she borrowed a ton of money, borrowed, I.E. stole a ton of money from them as well. Hey, but she didn't just create a different identity. Her parents, I think the dad drives a truck, and I know, that's like my, Dad, as you know, worked on the railroad. My mom started as a bank teller. My grandfather drove an ice truck and a school bus, anything to put the food on the table. But she not only assumed different an identity for herself, but she also created a whole team of imaginary assistance.
Starting point is 00:11:28 An assistant, an accountant, a manager, Limley, is this true? All of her imaginary assistants? Well, and some were not so imaginary. She even had the concierge at a hotel essentially on her staff at her beck and call. She was able to convince people of not only her wealth, but all of her aspirations, her dreams. She really wanted to build this members-only arts club on Park Avenue South and was even working to get the financing for it and was not too far away. She lied to a bank using phony record. Anna went too far when she attempted to take out a loan for $22 million to finance a visual arts center
Starting point is 00:12:14 she called the Anna Delvey Foundation. In all, Anna reportedly scammed a total of $275,000. Anna's double life began to crumble as hotels went after her unpaid debts and banks began to investigate her alleged assets. Wow, that's Jesse Palmer over at Daily Mail TV. Wow. Okay, So friends and acquaintances say Sorokin spent years playing the part of an art-obsessed German heiress. Sometimes she'd be Russian, sometimes she'd be German. She had
Starting point is 00:12:44 an accent to go with it. Rubbing shoulders with the fashion elite at Paris Fashion Week frequently spotted in London night spots. Then those who knew her saw her at a party in Berlin. She told everybody she had just flown in
Starting point is 00:13:00 on a private jet. How did she pull it off? scamming nearly $300,000. It was only when these Ritzie hotels in New York went after her to pay her bills that the whole thing fell apart. But it really amazed me, you know, I don't know if you do this or not, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags on Amazon Wendy. Under the Constitution, you can't force a defendant into court in handcuffs or leg irons or waist shackle. can't force them to come in inmate, jumpsuit, prison blues, or orange or stripes, whatever the case may be. But I would always keep a jacket and pants and a couple of different sizes in my office.
Starting point is 00:13:49 So when a defendant would show up on Monday morning trial calendar and say, oh, yeah, I want to go to trial, but I don't have a suit. I go, oh, I do have a suit for you. But she was more concerned about what she wore to court. every day she had she actually had a personal dresser dialist dressing her for court Wendy yeah you know Nancy what what you're describing really is something hopefully the judge will take into considering sentencing because it's this entire mentality of I don't want to say just not getting it that would be too kind it's a complete underappreciation or I should say non-appreciation for the fact that
Starting point is 00:14:25 the rest of us work for a living her family works for a living there is so much more to life than clothes and appearances and image. You know, one of the things that distinguishes this case is the fact that this over-emphasis on image, on money, on glamour, sounds like it absolutely overrode every ounce of judgment that she had. And to take that into the courtroom, as you mentioned, Nancy, is probably a little bit beyond the pale. Well, listen to our friends, an inside edition.
Starting point is 00:14:50 This is Diane McInerney. This woman may look like she is dressed for a fashion show and her designer duds, but the wannabe socialite is actually on trial for swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people. She was so concerned about how she looked in court. She actually hired a stylist. Is she in a courtroom or at a red carpet event? Anna Sorokin is accused of posing as an heiress to live an extravagant lifestyle, but it's what she's wearing to trial that is making headlines. The 27-year-old defendant showed up wearing a form-fitting black dress with a plunging neckline and choker necklace. It's a look that could backfire, warned stylist Don Karen.
Starting point is 00:15:26 Black dress definitely a no-no. It hyper-sexualized her. It makes her appear to be like a seductress. The choker kind of shows to me that she's trying to be overtly sexy. The more sexy she appears to be, it hurts her. Sorokin is so obsessed with her clothes, she refused to enter the courtroom because the outfit she was given to wear was not up to her standards. The angry judge told her,
Starting point is 00:15:51 this is unacceptable and inappropriate. This is not a fashion show. Sorikin's lawyer, Todd Spodeck, says, accounts of his client delaying the trial because of fashion are being blown out of proportion. It's not that she didn't want to come out only because of the clothes. She's going through a major criminal trial that's publicized every day. It's emotional and it's her life. Don't cry too much for Anna Sorokin.
Starting point is 00:16:15 She was living a life that many people, not me, but many people dream of. She made a show of proving she belonged with the rich and famous, decked out, in signature saline glasses, Gucci sandals, high-end buys from Netta Porte, Elise Walker. She usually hold up in a $400 a night room for months on in at Manhattan's very, very luxurious 11 Howard Hotel. Concierge at the hotel said they became friends when she would repeatedly
Starting point is 00:16:56 routinely pass out crisp $100 tips to both them and Uber drivers. When I hear the words crisp $100, how many $100 bills do you have, Jackie? I don't think I have any. So Jeff Cortiz, former FBI special agent, when I hear the word crisp $100 bills, that means you just got them out of an ATM or from the bank. So how does she manage to defraud the bank to get, cash to tip concierge to fake for her? Yeah, that's a great question.
Starting point is 00:17:31 You know, I think it's a numbers game in many respects. There were multiple banks engaged in her activity. She appears, based on the information, limited her trips back to the same well. Though she would go back to the same bank on occasion for certain banking activity, she did share the wealth amongst the banks within New York. so as not to draw too much attention over an extended period of time. Well, what I understand that she did, and I'm going to have to get clarity on this, is that she would provide fake bank records to one bank,
Starting point is 00:18:10 and then she was trying to get a massive loan for $22 million. So they wanted a down payment. So she faked records and got, I don't know, $50 to $100 grand from one bank and used that money to get a loan as a down payment. on a loan, a bigger loan, at another bank. None of the banks realizing what the others were doing. Another thing that really fascinates me, Dr. William July, and not in a good way, it's like looking at a tarantula under a glass box, okay, that sort of fascination, is the way
Starting point is 00:18:43 she carried on this big, huge, imaginary life. She would splash out on shopping sprees at boutiques, very expensive personal training sessions and beautician appointments and she would always bring along a friend and pay for them and they would be all impressed. The social elite, as they call themselves, would go to lavish and large dinners for celebs, artists, CEOs, all-in restaurants there in Soho. And if you do look at her online, she's always drinking a big glass of wine at some beautiful location. How can an adult have that type of an imaginary life. I mean, I know when children have an imaginary friend,
Starting point is 00:19:29 there's all sorts of psychological reasons for that, maybe just security. But an adult? Certainly people can have these types of imaginary lives and they're going to recruit other people. Just because of the chronological age does not make a person have the maturation that they should have. And that can be from a lot of different things.
Starting point is 00:19:49 But certainly as much as you can get other people to buy into this, this, then that's because she's going to continue and she's going to expand that imaginary life. And people can be very charming. They can be very off-putting. Excuse me, they can be very charming. They can be very persuasive. And they can get other people to buy in. There are people that can go into banks and they can fake a story and they can get people to believe it. It happens every day.
Starting point is 00:20:13 And this is a person who can do that. And the imaginary fast parts of this, I mean, I haven't examined her so I can't go so far to say she's delusional or anything like that. But clearly, she has the ability, the, maybe a pathological type of charm. Some people can do that. And also, you have to remember, other people are buying into this because the banks aren't changing credentials properly. Under the name Anna Delvey, she arrived in New York with a high-priced wardrobe and was known for handing out $100 cash tips, reportedly saying at different points that her father was a diplomat, an oil baron or involved in the solar panel business, none of which are the case.
Starting point is 00:20:51 People who knew her said she often asked others to use their credit cards to cover cab and plane fares and then failing to repay them. Our friend Michael Sissack at Time Magazine online, yeah, there was one story that came out at trial, how she hired a PR firm to organize her birthday party in Soho. It emerged. She never paid the bill. During her stay at 11 Howard, she struck up a friend there in addition to the concierge. years is to and ask for the recommendations for the very, very, very best food in Soho. We also learned that on one occasion she invited friends to dinner at Soho San Ambrough, and the friend ended up paying a whopper, massive bill when Sorokin's 12 credit cards were all declined. But Sorokin paid her back triple the amount the following day.
Starting point is 00:21:51 And cash. We also learned that she would go to unique treatments like infrared saunas in the East Village, go out to dinner after celebrity training sessions with Casey Duke, which Sorokin also paid for. John Lemley, how did she get money from one bank to get a loan from another bank? How'd that work? It's a very interesting line to follow. how she did this.
Starting point is 00:22:24 She would go to a bank and ask for a certain line of credit based on a lot of times just a promise of the fact that she had millions overseas that she could repay the loan. And she would go from one bank with that money to another bank and get an even larger. In fact, here's an example. She talked to an executive with Citignautional Bank into giving her a line of credit on her account for $100,000, promising to repay it with a wire transfer from a European account. She used that money in a failed attempt to secure a $25 million loan from Fortress Investment Group. And one of the managing directors at Fortress has said that she ran into a private. problems providing details about the origin of her wealth.
Starting point is 00:23:25 Someone actually thought to ask about that. You know, her lies became more and more spectacular. Wendy Patrick, California, prosecutor. In fact, she even managed to charter a private plane on one occasion with absolutely zero money, Wendy. How do you do that? Yeah, the level of sophistication, Nancy, as John was explaining, and as we know, now, looking back, was absolutely stunning. It was almost as if she was daring authorities to catch her in this,
Starting point is 00:23:51 escalating scheme of sophistication. And, you know, the answer to how you do that is the same way we commit, we see people committing other crimes is sometimes people are so trusting because image matters. You know, this is something I talk about in my book. We tend to attribute all these positive qualities to somebody who comes across as believable, whether they're pretty or that we like what they say or we're enamored with their accent or their clothes. All the types of things that Anna used to get ahead can fool other people into letting them acquire. the kind of wealth and as you point out, tangible benefits that this young lady did. John Lemley, tell me about the luxe treatment she got in Morocco where she ended up
Starting point is 00:24:30 stiffing her friend with the bill. Well, when they went to Marrakesh, she went with a friend and she had offered to pay for everything. Now, her friend actually offered to help pay, but she said, no, no, no, you work hard for your money, harder for your money than I do. this is my treat. And they would go out for a round of drinks and oops, she forgot her credit card. So she would ask, you know, very quietly if the friend could, you know, just cover this one check.
Starting point is 00:25:04 And that would happen over and over and over again. And this friend, in the end, ended up covering the $62,000 cost of the flights, dining, shopping and the stay at a hotel where they had a price. at villa with a courtyard, a pool, and a butler. All the extravagance that you might say was fit for, say, a Kardashian. A $62,000 vacation, that is more than most people make an entire year. While in Marrakesh, Morocco, Sorokan, aka Delvey, took part in all the activities the hotel had to offer. For instance, they took private tennis lessons.
Starting point is 00:25:52 They ate breakfast poolside. A butler would deliver them fresh watermelons and bottles of rosé. They roamed the gardens, relaxed, swam in the villa's private pool, took a tour of the wine cellar, ate dinner with live Moroccan music, before capping off their nights with cotton. at the Churchill bar. I mean, this is a trip that most people only dream of. And now here's Ms. Thing, having a nearly $70,000 vacation built on crime. Yeah, you know, Nancy, the best things in life are free.
Starting point is 00:26:38 And everybody knows that. So when you look at a story like this, part of, I think, the offense that everyone is taking is to use crime and criminal activity to build a fake world where people pay the kind of money that most of us would never do even if we had it. You talk about the value of hard work the way we were all raised. It sounds like those she surrounded herself were really taken with the fact that someone they believed was as rich and famous as she was would be interested in them. That is a basic human need. Ironically, that was being satisfied through crime and through, as you pointed out earlier,
Starting point is 00:27:13 having this imaginary friend that's larger than life. Hey, I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, OnCore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf Parades, I'll Believe in Anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. stream encore on iHeart radio crave or wherever you get your podcasts
Starting point is 00:27:51 crime stories with nancy grace anadelphi the froster who ripped people off to the tune of nearly half a million dollars finally going home to germany leaving behind a string of unpaid tabs and broken hearts what exactly did anna delvey do you know i don't know about you jeff cortise a FBI special agent, but I loved it when I would, of course, the prosecutor gets in front of an entire jury panel and reads the indictment before you begin jury selection. So everybody knows who's charged with what and what all the counts are. And I would love it to say State versus Jeff Cortizay, aka Charlie Tuna, aka the Hammer, aka blah, blah, blah, and so forth and so on. I
Starting point is 00:28:47 I would love reading out 10 or 12 aliases. And by the time you're done reading that, the jury just looks at the person and goes, you're so, you're guilty. You're guilty. Why are you? Why do you have 12 aliases? And this girl, I'm telling you, not only had aliases, but she had fake assistants. She lied about her mom and dad, who they really are.
Starting point is 00:29:11 The reality is that her father was a truck driver. and he went on to work at or start a heating and air-conditioned business. The friends in school called her Barbie, and her favorite movie was Mean Girls. And I don't think that's any of that is good. Okay. That means nothing good, Jeff Cortiz. No, I agree 100%.
Starting point is 00:29:40 You hit it on the head. You know, the minute individuals start layering themselves, with aliases and AKAs, you know, they're putting up walls and barriers that any jury is going to be able to see through. You know, she really executed a well-thought-out plan against the banks using multiple techniques and methods to siphon money from them. You know, from top to bottom, she exploited what people want to see and exploited the type of lifestyle that people want to have. to the extent that, you know, if I was going to run an undercover, I would have done many of the techniques that,
Starting point is 00:30:19 that she did in order to manipulate my audience. Well, another aspect to this, John Lemley, is I remember one day when John David came running home and went, so-and-so's mom is so cool. She works for Chick-fil-A. And she gets free T-shirts and she gets this and she gets that. I think the lady, who's very lovely, was in marketing.
Starting point is 00:30:44 or PR and would bring home, you know, like a t-shirt or a moo cow or whatever they had. And I thought briefly of creating a different persona to try to impress John David's friends who were then four years old. Okay. But I just decided, no, I'm just going to stick with the truth, you know, and let the chips fall where they may. But John Lemley, I mean, that would hurt me if I found out the twins were like. lying about their mom and dad, that what we are isn't good enough to fit in to their self-image
Starting point is 00:31:24 they're projecting. That would really hurt my feelers. And that's exactly the way her parents felt about the whole thing. They actually did help fund her through college and as she was getting out on her own, but there was never any sort of trust fund. She moved to Germany in 2007, and after she dropped out of college, she interned in public relations before then moving to Paris and became an intern at Purple Magazine. Once she arrived in New York City, she just somehow managed to be in all the sort of right places, and she was this German heiress, according to her, with a father that you would think with... Wait a minute.
Starting point is 00:32:08 I thought she was supposed to be. be a Russian heiress. Well, no, she was from Russia, but she told people she was a German heiress. What's really funny, though, is that her German, according to a lot of people, was terrible. Hmm, hmm. I want you to take a listen to what the defense claims in closing arguments. She had to fake it until she could make it. Those words from the defendant's own attorney who claimed she never intended to commit a crime. But prosecutors call her a fraud and a liar who would do almost anything to prolong her life of luxury. This morning, the fate of an alleged scam artist is now in the hands of a jury.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Both sides wrapping up arguments for a case that's drawn international outrage. The style-savvy defendant even turning heads in court wearing an animal print dress. She called herself Anna Delvey, a fashionable globetrotter who prosecutors say was pretending to be a high-flying German heiress, living a fairy tale life of glist. and glam among Manhattan's elite. I urge you to come to the only verdict that is in accord with both the law and the evidence, and that is... Prosecutors say the 28-year-old, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, stole $275,000 from banks, hotels,
Starting point is 00:33:29 and friends, all part of an elaborate scheme to keep up her illusion of grandeur. Prosecutors also alleged Sorkin tried securing a $22 million loan to operate a private club, claims her lawyer denies. I do not believe she had the intent to ever commit a crime. Whether she owes people money, that's a fact of life. That's the reality of doing business in New York. Now facing charges of grand larceny and theft, she could spend up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Starting point is 00:33:58 But officials say even if acquitted, she will be deported to Germany. Sorkin's attorney says she got in over her head, but was just buying time until she could pay everyone back. You're hearing our buddy Whit Johnson at GMA at ABC, pay everybody back. I saw no signs of paying everybody back. And calling this doing business, that's certainly putting perfume on the pig. Now, you know there's a problem, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor and author of red flags, when the defense to theft and fraud is, fake it till you make it.
Starting point is 00:34:32 Okay, I would not say that that's a valid defense and a fraud case. you're admitting you're faking it. It's probably not a good theme for the defense. One, I'm sure they're rethinking right about now. You don't want to, that's kind of playing right into the prosecutor's case. Now, what they probably were trying to do, interestingly, in trial. Nancy, you and I have both seen this, is really kind of painting this vulnerability picture of the defendant to try to make somebody feel sorry for her, that she was caught up in this false lifestyle,
Starting point is 00:35:01 felt she had to pretend she was somebody she wasn't who can't relate to that. there's a little bit of Anna in all of us. You know, some of the themes we've seen. Well, wait, wait, wait, right. I want to isolate what you just said. Yeah. The defense argued at trial as if Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, was some type of a renegade and a rebel,
Starting point is 00:35:23 someone who was, you know, making her own path in the world creatively. B.S. Don't tell me there's a little bit of Anna Sorokin and me, because that was their defense. There's a little bit of Anna and all of us. Oh, uh-uh-uh-mm. No, because she is a fraud, a thief, and she ripped people off, and they're never going to get repaid, Wendy. Right. That's what I'm saying.
Starting point is 00:35:47 That, well, that's probably why she was convicted, because these defenses are just not realistic to jurors, to hardworking jurors, and just cannot relate to the fact that we are anything like this picture of Anna. Nonetheless, we have seen this defense time and again, and thankfully, it is. is not successful. Take a listen to this. The courtroom drama played out late into the evening. At one point, the jury appeared deadlocked, the defense asking for a mistrial, but then the verdict. Jurors agreeing with the prosecution that Anna Sorokin built her fairy tale life on a foundation of theft and lies. Over night, a New York City jury finding socialite Anna Sorokin, the so-called Soho Grifter, guilty on eight counts, including grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, theft of services. Prosecutors arguing the 28-year-old stole a quarter of a million dollars
Starting point is 00:36:39 from banks, hotels, and friends to fund a lavish lifestyle. The jurors obviously believed our point of view and followed our logic and acquitted her of the top charges. I'm saddened that she was convicted of some of the other charges. Prosecutors say the Russian-born Sorokin, who called herself Anna Delvey, was pretending to be a high-flying German heiress, living a life of glamour among Manhattan's elite. Authorities say she even forged financial documents, hoping to get a $22 million loan to open a private club in the Big Apple. A word of legal advice. Unsolicited. I'll give it to you for free, Delvey. Be quiet. Silence is golden. Keep all those special feelings to yourself, and they'll be even more
Starting point is 00:37:25 special. We wait. As justice unfolds, I predict we have not heard the last from Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sark. Goodbye. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.