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ICE Will Deport 'Socialite Grifter' Anna Sorokin As Soon As They Can
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 25, 2019
Modified Mar 25, 2019
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Jefferson Siegel / Gothamist
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 25, 2019
Modified Mar 25, 2019
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Anna Sorokin has been in jail since she was arrested in October 2017, with authorities accusing her of posing as a wealthy German heiress while allegedly scamming friends, banks, and others out of $275,000. Now feds are ready to deport her if and when she is done serving time.
Sorokin went by "Anna Delvey" while ingratiating herself in New York City's social scene. She allegedly lived in boutique hotels but couldn't pay the bills—or would overdraft on loans to fund her lifestyle. She took a trip to Morocco, but apparently couldn't pay the bill, instead getting a friend cover $62,000 worth of travel expenses; the friend later wrote about it for Vanity Fair. Sorokin was also accused of faking her bank accounts to show she had €60 million in an attempt to get a $22 million loan.
The 28-year-old is now on trial in New York Criminal Court, but U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement confirmed to Insider that they are interested in deporting the German national because she has overstayed her visa.
"ICE is requesting that we be notified prior to her release from local custody so she can be taken into ICE custody," Rachael Yong Yow told Insider. "Regardless of whether or not she is convicted, she is amenable for removal because she is a visa waiver overstay. If she is convicted, she is sentenced to serve her time in the US."
Sorokin rejected a plea deal in December; at the time, the Daily News reported that her lawyer explained, "The New York State executive law ‘Condition Parole for Deportation Only’ would permit Ms. Sorokin to finish the proposed three-to-nine (year) plea within a few months, and voluntarily return to Germany. Ms. Sorokin has declined all offers and we are ready to proceed with jury selection in February."
The News also noted at the time that she was "eligible to be released in the next few months because she has already spent the last year and two months on Rikers Island."
One thing that won't be part of her trial is how Sorokin apparently managed to fool three major law firms and stiffed them in $255,000 in fees. One lawyer not associated with those firms said, "Law firms tend to be very sophisticated in the practice of law, but in many senses, how they’re run as businesses, they are Neanderthals."
Tagged
anna delvey
anna sorkin
grand larceny
ICE
socialite grifter
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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