She lived a high life in Manhattan after deceiving her victims by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But now “fake heiress” Anna Sorokin claims she is finally ruined.
Russian-born Sorokin, who disguises herself as a wealthy German socialist, received “relief for the poor” when she filed an appeal against her conviction for grand theft and theft, DailyMail.com reported.
Sorokin, who is the object of the new Netflix the series Inventing Anna – which she says was inspired by the “true story of total forgery” – received help from the court to cover the costs of filing her appeal and other legal fees.
The 31-year-old woman has officially requested “limited” relief, for which she must prove that she has little or no money.
Sorokin was due to file a complaint by February 22, but has not yet done so.
Anna Sorokin has applied for limited relief for poor people to receive state aid to fund her appeal against her convictions for grand theft and theft
The Russian-born criminal has been convicted of defrauding thousands of New York banks and socialists by claiming to be Germany’s heiress Anna Delvi
Sorokin (right) lived a secular life. She posed for a photo with friends at Tumblr Fashion Honor, celebrating the Rodarte brand at the Jane Hotel in New York in 2014.
She is currently in the custody of the US Immigration and Judicial Authority at the Orange County Penitentiary in Goshen, New York, awaiting possible deportation back to Germany, pending her appeal.
She is also one of three detainees on trial by federal immigration authorities for refusing to give her booster vaccines for Covid while she was imprisoned, and said she tested positive in January.
The idea that Sorokin, who also calls herself Anna Delvi, may be without money would be a grimly appropriate ending to a story of deception, arrogance, and lofty living.
Her father was a truck driver, and her mother ran a small shop. She was born in a working-class suburb of Moscow and she and her family emigrated to Germany when she was 16.
Anna’s fiction, starring Julia Garner, details how Sorokin claims to have a $ 60 million trust fund in Europe and cheated his way to expensive travel and hotel stays by robbing his best friend .
Sorokin was released from prison only in February last year, after serving nearly four years of his four- to 12-year sentence and returning to his previous life of luxury by renting a luxury apartment in Chelsea.
Weeks later, after boasting in a television interview that “the crime is paid for in some way,” she was arrested by immigration agents on charges of having expired her visa and has been in custody ever since.
This image, published by Netflix, shows Julia Garner in a scene from “Anna’s Invention”.
Sorokin said he has no plans to watch Inventing Anna starring Julia Garner (pictured). “I never did the show in anticipation, thinking she would watch it. If she watched it, great, “said the actress
Sorokin is currently behind bars at Orange County Prison in Goshen, New York, 70 miles north of Manhattan.
Sorokin’s appeal for “limited relief to the poor” was filed in the First Appellate Division of the State Court of New York, which is considering her appeal.
Last month, the court ruled that Sorokin was “allowed to waive the necessary fee for the summons and the filing of the minutes.”
Sorokin’s application form is not public, but according to a blank version of the court’s website, she will have to list in detail all the assets she owns, including property, stocks and bonds, as well as details of her bank accounts.
She will have to find out if she owns a vehicle and her gross monthly income and expenses, including money spent on food and utilities.
The poor man’s relief can cover everything from legal fees to requiring the court to provide a lawyer.
Sorokin still has a private lawyer, but asked for help with administrative costs.
Inventing Anna was launched by Netflix last month
New York-based lawyer Mark Bedrow, who does not represent Sorokin, said her request for such relief was “ridiculous on many levels.”
He said: “Usually a person gets relief from a poor person by saying that he is deprived.
“They’re not just literally stamping it out, but you have to imagine that you don’t have any income or resources, and one wonders if she asked her friends on Netflix to pay for it?”
Sorokin’s claim that she cannot afford a lawyer contrasts with the statements of her lawyers in her immigration case, which is being heard in federal court.
Writing in August last year, lawyer Audrey Thomas made a convincing argument as to why Sorokin should stay in the United States – based on her wealth.
Thomas argues that Sorokin “will not be a burden to the state, as it has many lucrative contracts with Netflix and other established media groups.”
Court documents from Thomas say: “She will support herself throughout her presence in the United States. She has a place to live and a means to support herself, and her business ventures will actually provide jobs for Americans.
‘Miss. Sorokin has already provided financial security for several people. She has paid more than $ 75,000 in legal fees and has hired male / female cameramen, videographers, photographers and a team of American media.
Sorokin during a trial in New York in 2019, where she was reprimanded by Judge Diane Kiesel for refusing to go to court because Anne Taylor’s teams provided by her lawyer did not meet her standards.
Sorokin poses as a German heiress with a fortune of $ 60 million to rob businesses and friends in order to maintain his extravagant lifestyle
Sorokin was released from Jay in February 2021, but was soon detained by the ICE for delaying her visa and facing deportation back to Germany.
‘Miss. “Anna Sorokin is truly a force for change that Americans can believe in and a source of inspiration for those who believe they can come back.”
Bedrow said the difference between the two sets of documents was “worrying” and “raising issues”.
He said: “This is what it is. She is a convicted fraudster who has been convicted of misrepresenting who she is.
Sorokin does have a lucrative deal with Netflix for $ 320,000, according to the New York State Victim Services Service, which monitors the payment of her restitution to her victims.
Of that money, she paid $ 100,000 to City National Bank, $ 70,000 to Citibank, spent $ 75,000 on court fees and another $ 24,000 on fines, leaving about $ 51,000 left.
Sorokin does not appear to have paid Blade, Uber’s air taxi service, for $ 35,400 he owes them for a charter flight from New Jersey to Omaha, Nebraska, to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway.
Nor has she apparently recovered the $ 23,000 she owes Signature Bank.
Thomas did not respond to requests for comment.