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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Jennifer Peltz

'Fake heiress' released to house arrest, fights deportation

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Anna “Delvey” Sorokin has been released on a $10,000 bond from an ICE detention centre, days after she was granted bail.

Delvey, whose story garnered worldwide attention after it became the subject of Netflix’s hit series Inventing Anna, will be on house arrest at her chosen residence while her immigration proceedings are finalised, The Daily Beast reported.

Her release on Friday comes days after Judge Charles Conroy said in a ruling that it was precisely Delevy’s status “as a public figure” that made it difficult for her to avoid detention, and what partially convinced the court that her “risk of flight [is] sufficiently mitigated,” according to filings obtained by the outlet.

“We’re thrilled that Anna has been released and we’re all looking forward to sharing further updates in the weeks to come,” a spokesperson for the fake German heiress told The Daily Beast.

Delvey’s attorney told the outlet there were a few “hurdles” that had kept her from posting bond and delayed her release earlier this week. As part of her house arrest terms, Delvey has also been banned from using social media.

Delvey, 31, successfully conned friends and big banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars before she was convicted in 2019 of fraud and grand larceny and sentenced to between four and 12 years in prison. After paying back her victims, Delvey was briefly released in February 2021 before she was arrested by ICE for overstaying her visa.

In his ruling, Judge Conroy said that Delvey had demonstrated “interest in pursuing legitimate employment in the United States, pursuits that will face heavy public scrutiny.”

At her trial in 2019, Sorokin was found guilty of scamming more than $200,000 (£147,000) from hotels, banks and other institutions. She disguised herself as a German heiress in order to swindle large sums from associates and friends.

The Russian-born con artist’s story was dramatised in the Netflix series. Insider reported Netflix paid Delvey $320,000, but her funds were frozen and used to pay her victims.

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