Anna Sorokin, a Russian fraudster who masqueraded as a German heiress while defrauding New York’s elite of hundreds of thousands of dollars, has made an appearance at a fashion event sporting a bejeweled ankle monitor.
The 33-year-old Sorokin fabricated an identity as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey over several years, deceiving hotels, banks, and acquaintances into funding her extravagant lifestyle.
She was apprehended in 2017 and found guilty of eight offenses, including grand larceny, in April 2019, subsequently sentenced to four to 12 years.
Sorokin, who relocated from Russia to Germany in 2007 with her family, has been wearing the ankle monitor since October 2022, when she commenced house arrest in connection with a deportation proceeding.
While attending the Untitled&Co runway display during New York Fashion Week on Wednesday, Sorokin posed for photographers, visibly showcasing the black bejeweled monitor on her right leg.
Additionally, she donned a miniskirt and a tiara for the occasion.
Sorokin at the fashion show at The Altman Building. Pic: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
On Wednesday, it was revealed that she will be competing in the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars, which debuts on September 17 on ABC and Disney+.
The production appears to be embracing the ankle monitor, having released a photo of Sorokin in a dazzling gown prominently displaying the tag on her leg.
Despite her release from prison in February 2021, immigration officials assert that she overstayed her visa and must return to her home country, Germany.
She spent more than a year in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before a judge permitted her transition to home confinement in October 2022 while she contests the deportation proceedings.
Sorokin’s elaborate deceit of impersonating a wealthy German heiress inspired the 2022 Netflix sensation Inventing Anna, featuring Julia Garner in the role of the con artist.
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Sorokin’s representative, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed on Tuesday that she is allowed to travel within a 70-mile (112km) radius of her residence and anywhere throughout the five boroughs of New York City under previous conditions of house arrest, but he could not provide details regarding potential modifications to those regulations.
While under house arrest, she was required to comply with the immigration judge’s ruling prohibiting her from using social media, although she launched a podcast titled The Anna Delvey Show that featured guests like comedian Whitney Cummings and technology journalist Taylor Lorenz, who visited her apartment in New York for recordings.
“Numerous individuals have gained fame for negative reasons and managed to pivot it into something different,” she shared in a June 2023 interview with the Associated Press.
