Anna Sorokin, Fake ‘European Heiress’ Who Allegedly Scammed New York, Appears In Court, Complains About Jail
Anna Sorokin, the so-called “SoHo Grifter” who has allegedly been scamming New York by pretending to be a European heiress while simultaneously running credit card scams, appeared in court Friday, after a two-hour delay over the outfit she would have to wear in court, MSN reports.
Sorokin, who also goes by the name Anna Delvey, was scheduled to appear in court on Friday to answer charges, but apparently “threw a tantrum” because she didn’t want to wear a jail jumpsuit to court. After a two-hour delay, she turned up in button-down blouse.
She then went on to complain about conditions at Rikers Island, the jail complex where most New York defendants who can’t make bail are housed.
As Rolling Stone reports, Sorokin has become something of a celebrity around New York, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Regardless of how she got there, Sorokin seems to be soaking up her status as a celebrity, even going so far as to hire a celebrity stylist for her trial.
Nicknamed “The SoHo Grifter,” Sorokin came from humble origins in Europe, before arriving in the U.S. with a new name (Anna Delvey) and big dreams. And in order to achieve those dreams, she took on the persona of a German heiress, even though in fact she was the daughter of a Russian truck driver.
Forget Fyrefest. The Anna 'Delvey' Sorokin story is the one I'm really looking forward to. https://t.co/QgZdBLeitH
— Daire Hickey (@hidaire) March 27, 2019
With her fake name and fake persona, Sorokin allegedly scammed New York City banks, merchants, and credit card companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars with her convincing act. She also jet-setted around the world with some of New York’s elite, but was nowhere to be found when the bills came due.
Her house of cards came crashing down in 2017 when two hotels pressed charges against her for checking out without paying the six-figure bills.
Sorokin still appears unable to give up her ruse. As The New York Post reports, she’s hired celebrity stylist Anastasia Walker to make sure she has the right look for her trial. And Walker is taking her job seriously, even though her client has a history of not paying her bills.
“For this week, what was important is a clean silhouette and classic pieces. You don’t want things that will be dated, especially in the age of the Internet.”
Unfortunately for Sorokin, her days of wearing high fashion in front of the cameras may soon be coming to an end, to be traded for a prison jumpsuit. She faces 15 years for grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services.
