The fake German heiress who talked her way into elite New York circles won her release from jail — but at the cost of a total ban from all social media.
Anna Sorokin, who pretended to be an heiress named Anna Delvey and was the subject of the Netflix series Inventing Anna, has been in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for 17 months for overstaying her visa. An immigration judge ruled on Wednesday that she could be released from an Orange County, New York, facility while she fights deportation.
But the order required her to post $10,000 bail and remain in 24-hour home confinement with electronic monitoring. She was also barred from accessing any social media platform, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
Sorokin posted frequently on Instagram about her glamorous “VIP” lifestyle while conning banks, hotels and friends out of tens of thousands of dollars. She also tried to convince investors, including Fortress Investment Group, to give her millions of dollars to launch the Anna Delvey Foundation, a Soho House-like social club.
Convicted of fraud in New York state court and sentenced to four to 12 years in prison in 2019, Sorokin was released early for good behaviour last year. But she was arrested six weeks later by the US' immigration and customs authority, commonly known as ICE.
The US government had argued Sorokin continued to pose a danger to the community. But her lawyer, John Sandweg, a former acting director for the immigration authority, said on Wednesday the judge made the right decision.
“She hasn’t been accused of committing a crime since 2017,” Sandweg said. “And the evidence clearly demonstrated that any risk she does pose can be adequately managed through supervision, electronic monitoring, parole and the supervision of ICE.”
The Russian-born Sorokin, who holds German citizenship, has been active on Instagram in recent weeks, posting on September 12 that she stood with Ukraine against the Russian invasion. The next day she celebrated her return to Twitter after a year-long absence while she was in custody.
