Art-World Scammer Anna Delvey Is Found Guilty After a Dramatic Trial and Now Faces Prison and Deportation

She will be sentenced May 9 and faces up to 15 years in jail.

Anna Delvey attending the first Tumblr Fashion Honor presented to Rodarte at the Jane Hotel on September 9, 2014. Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images.

After a trial that lasted almost a month and damning detailed testimony from dozens of witnesses, Anna Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, was found guilty of nearly all the counts against her. The jury took two days to deliberate after the trial wrapped up on Tuesday, April 23 in downtown Manhattan.

Sorokin was found guilty on eight counts, including attempted grand larceny in the first degree, grand larceny in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree, and theft of services. Jurors found her not guilty on two other charges: a second count of attempted grand larceny related to her effort to gain a $22 million loan from a bank and of stealing $60,000 from her friend who paid for a luxurious trip for four to Morocco.

Prosecutors estimated that the cumulative amount of financial damages from her high-flying, globetrotting activities was $275,000. She faces up to 15 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced on May 9.

Regardless of the outcome of the sentencing, Sorokin will eventually be deported to Germany since she has overstayed her visa. According to some reports, she could have gotten off with as little as one year in jail if she had struck a plea deal, but rejected the possibility several months ago.

Anna Sorokin better known as Anna Delvey, the 28-year-old German national, whose family moved there in 2007 from Russia, is seen in the courtroom during her trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York on April 11, 2019. - The self-styled German heiress has been charged with grand larceny and theft of services charges alleging she swindled various people and businesses. Photo credit TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

Anna Sorokin better known as Anna Delvey, the 28-year-old German national, during her trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York on April 11, 2019. (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

“As proven at trial, Anna Sorokin committed real white-collar felonies over the course of her lengthy masquerade,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance. He thanked the jury members for their service, and also singled out the office’s “prosecutors and investigators for their meticulous investigation and resolve to ensure that Sorokin faces real justice for her many thefts and lies.”

Delvey’s fraudulent activities and ensuing trial have drawn significant international media attention over the past two years. The trial presented testimony from dozens of witnesses, including bankers, architects, law enforcement, hotel security personnel, and former friends. She told them all the same story: that she was a German heiress who stood to inherit a trust fund worth €60 million on her 25th birthday.

Her efforts yielded mixed results. When she applied for tens of millions of dollars in loan financing for a purported luxurious arts foundation on Park Avenue South, for examples, red flags—some glaring in retrospect—raised during the due diligence process blocked her efforts.

She was, however, able to illicitly secure $100,000 through overdraft on a bank account she promised would be covered by a wire transfer in two to three days’ time. The repayment never materialized.

Anna Sorokin Delvey in Morocco. Pictures of the trip were entered as evidence in the ongoing trial in New York State Supreme Court.

Anna Sorokin Delvey in Morocco. Pictures of the trip were entered as evidence in the ongoing trial in New York State Supreme Court.

She also invited former friend and then-Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel Williams on an ill-fated “all expenses paid” trip to Morocco in May 2017, during which Williams got stuck with the $63,000 bill for a private $7,000-a-night luxury villa in Marrakesh, private tennis lessons, meals, and a $1,300 shopping spree for caftans. But the jury did not agree that this particular con—a large focus of the media attention—constituted theft.

Sorokin’s exploits have already been detailed at length in New York and Vanity Fair magazines. Various book and film deals about her exploits are in the works with HBO, Simon & Schuster, and Netflix (although Delvey herself won’t see any of the money).

The trial itself was not without its fair share of drama, including several court “meltdowns” on Sorokin’s part, reportedly over dissatisfaction with her daily trial outfits—the work of a hired stylist—that caused delays in the legal proceedings. It is not clear who is paying for Sorokin’s attorney, Todd Spodek. He was not immediately available for comment.

Since her arrest in late 2017, Delvey has been held without bail on Rikers Island.


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