Who is Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna will be a question on many people's lips as they watch the major new Netflix true-crime drama.
If you’re looking to fill a Bridgerton, Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal-sized void, look no further. Hailing from the producer extraordinaire, Shonda Rhimes, the limited mini-series, based on Jessica Pressler’s captivating expose in The Cut, dives into the who, what, where, and why behind Anna Delvey’s story.
So, who is Anna Delvey? What were her crimes? Who did she con? We investigate.
This article contains SPOILERS for the Inventing Anna series. You've been warned.
Is Inventing Anna a true story?
This whole story is completely true. Except for all of the parts that are totally made up
Netflix — Inventing Anna
From "it girl grifter" to "jailbird" — if that all sounds like the makings of a crazy TV series, well, Shonda Rhimes was lightyears ahead of you.
When Jessica Pressler's article first hit the internet, Delvey was already jailed in Rikers Island without bail. That’s where the Netflix series begins. As Anna Delvey’s 10-month long "get rich" scam was exposed, the TV mogul was already crafting a dramatized version of the story — teaming up with her Shondaland partner, Betsy Beers, for the first series she's created herself since Scandal.
Fast forward a few years later — and delayed slightly due to the pandemic — Inventing Anna is one of the most highly-anticipated TV shows of the year. The semi-fictionalized story (note: it's a drama, not a documentary) chronicles Delvey’s fascinating journey — her rise to the high life, her legendary status, her eventual downfall and the legal battle that followed. All the while the documentary poses the question, is Anna Sorokin New York’s biggest con woman, or is she simply the new face of the dark side of the American dream?
Is Anna Delvey a real person and who is she?
Anna Delvey might be one of the most recognizable names to New York’s elites — for all the wrong reasons. The self-proclaimed socialite, entrepreneur and millionaire German heiress was actually none of those things.
Her real name is actually Anna Sorokin. She’s Russian-born, from a middle-class family and a con artist who scammed friends and businesses to fund her lavish lifestyle.
All the trappings of a wealthy background — designer clothes, invites to exclusive events and effortless confidence — helped her look the part. But, in reality, she racked up large debts at boutique hotels, chartered flights she couldn’t pay for, attempted to secure loans for a private art club she hoped to open and made empty promises to pay back friends via wire transfers that never came through.
How much money did Netflix pay Anna Delvey / Anna Sorokin?
According to Insider, Netflix paid Delvey $320,000, for royalties and consultancy. A large amount, no doubt, but she's spent most of that paying back the institutions she defrauded, state-mandated fines and legal fees.
Initially, this fee along with the rest of her assets was frozen due to the "Son of Sam" law — which stops criminals from profiting from their crimes. But it was 'unfrozen' as she was using it to pay restitution to all the victims she scammed.
What happened to Anna Delvey / Anna Sorokin?
Over a 10-month period, Anna Sorokin / Anna Delvey managed to scam businesses out of $275,000. The long arm of the law soon caught up with her and in 2019 a Manhattan jury indicted Anna Sorokin (Delvey) on three charges of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny. Even then, Anna couldn’t stop the act and hired a stylist to keep up appearances — her outfits were thoroughly documented on Instagram.
She was sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison after a lengthy trial.
Where is Anna Delvey / Anna Sorokin now?
Delvey served two years in a New York state prison before being released on parole, in February 2021. She was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March for overstaying her visa.
An immigration judge has ordered her to remain in custody to await deportation to Germany (where her family moved when she was a teen). The New York Times reported on March 14 that Delvey was facing "imminent deportation." she's still in an ICE detention center in upstate New York. However, CNN, citing an Immigration and Enforcement spokesperson, reports that as of March 15 is still in custody in the US.
In a post for Insider, Delvey opens up and explains things from her perspective.
Thanks to Shonda Rhimes we all have a front-row seat to explore Delvey’s story now on Netflix.
