Anna Sorokin – the fake heiress who swindled banks, hotels and members of New York high society out of $275,000 – has given her first TV interview since her release from prison.
The 30-year-old German citizen, who is currently in ICE custody awaiting possible deportation back to Europe, was freed in February after serving almost four years behind bars after being convicted of grand larceny and theft of services.
Now, Sorokin is sitting down with ABC’s Deborah Roberts for a 20/20 special, which is set to in full on Friday.
In a sneak preview of the interview, the convicted fraudster attempts to portray herself in a softer light, saying she never pretended to be from money and she never meant to be deceptive.
‘I never had a fraudulent intent – and I guess that’s what should really count,’ she claims.
Sorokin, who wore heavy make-up and curled her hair for the interview, further stated: ‘I would like to show the world that I’m not this dumb, greedy person that they portrayed me to be.’
In 2013, Sorokin arrived in New York City, and pretended to be pretended to be a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey. She spent the next four years living a life of luxury, often on the borrowed dimes of newly-acquainted friends who believed she was incredibly cashed up.
Anna Sorokin – the fake heiress who swindled banks, hotels and members of New York high society out of $275,000 – has given her first TV interview since her release from prison
The 30-year-old German citizen was freed in February after serving almost four years behind bars after being convicted of grand larceny and theft of services. She is pictured in court in 2019
Sorokin’s lawyer also appears in the 20/20 special, attempting to explain his client’s actions.
‘Anna had every intention of doing things the right way, but she couldn’t open those doors without doing something a little bit grey to open the door,’ her attorney, Todd Spodek, stated.
‘Everyone creates the version of themselves that they want the world to see… Everyone lies when it’s convenient to them… and Anna did the same thing. She couldn’t be 100% honest because no one would listen to her.’
However, the 20/20 special also features an interview with one of Sorokin’s former friends, who was left $62,000 in debt due to the fake heiress’s antics.
The ex-pal, Rachel DeLoache Williams, tells 20/20 she joined Sorokin on a trip to Morocco in 2017.
Williams believed Sorokin was footing the bill for the lavish vacation but her credit cards mysteriously stopped working.
[The hotel] said to me, ‘Do you have a credit card?’ So I look at Anna and she’s like, ‘Can we just use yours for now?’ Williams recounts in the new TV special.
Later, Williams learned the total amount billed to her credit card was in excess of $62,000.
‘She owed me more money than I made in a year,’ Williams stated.
The former friend says she then fell behind on her rent and credit card repayments, and was left ‘panicking’. She testified against Sorokin at trial.
“To have someone that I had put so much goodwill into turn out to just be like a liar and who had willfully hurt me, was very painful,’ she stated.
Sorokin, who wore heavy make-up and curled her hair for the interview, further stated: ‘I would like to show the world that I’m not this dumb, greedy person that they portrayed me to be’
The 20/20 special also features an interview with one of Sorokin’s former friends, Rachel DeLoache Williams, who was left $62,000 in debt due to the fake heiress’s antics
Sorokin’s interview with ABC appears to be an attempt to rebrand herself as more innocent and contrite.
Earlier this year she made more obnoxious remarks.
She told Tatler in May: ‘It was the prosecutors’ job to make me look bad, but in the end, they got upset for how famous I got over it.’
She told The Times in March that prison was a ‘pointless’ ‘waste of time’, called the prosecution against her an ‘insult to her intelligence’ and boasted that guards treated her like a ‘celebrity’.
On Twitter, she joked that the only job she would consider is creative director of Goldman Sachs and said ‘going to trial is the new sex tape’.
Sorokin is now the subject of an upcoming Netflix project. The streaming giant reportedly paid her $320,000 to consult on a series about her crimes and she has used most of the money to pay off her victims.
Life of luxury! Sorokin (far right) is pictured at a glitzy fashion week party in NYC back in 2014
Sorokin’s interview with ABC appears to be an attempt to rebrand herself as more innocent and contrite. Earlier this year she made more obnoxious remarks. Pictured, Sorokin at her sentencing at Manhattan State Supreme Court in May 2019
HOW SOROKIN CAN MAKE MONEY FROM HER CRIMES AND WHO SHE HAS TO REPAY
Under New York State Law, a convict can profit for their crimes so long as the money gained is made accessible to their victims. It is what’s known as the Son of Sam Law.
‘The Son of Sam law requires any entity that enters into a contract with someone who is accused or convicted of a crime to supply a copy of the contract to the Crime Victims Compensation Board. That entity would have to deliver any money owed according to the contract to the board for placement in an escrow account for five years.
‘If an interested party were to successfully sue the perpetrator, the money from the contract would be used to pay any judgment. If no victims were brought within the five year period, the Crime Victims Compensation Board would be required to provide the funds to the accused,’ the state senate’s description of it reads.
It’s unclear how much victims can claim from the perpetrator.
Sorokin was told she had to repay the banks she stole from $199,000 and pay $24,000 in state fines. A judge unfroze her assets so she could pay them before her prison release.
Rachael DeLoach Williams, the Vanity Fair photo editor she scammed, was not repaid. She made $330,000 out of TV and book deals about the ordeal.
Sorokin was told she also didn’t have to repay the hotels she stole from by staying in rooms then not paying the bill.
It means that after paying off the banks and state fines, she had some $100,000 to play with from the Netflix deal – though it’s unclear how much she was taxed for the money.
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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
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