Crime 'Inventing Anna' True Story: Everything to Know About Anna Delvey, Including Her Crimes and Where She Is Now Netflix's Inventing Anna tells the wild true story of Anna Sorokin, who posed as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey while living in N.Y.C. By Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson Twitter Kelsie Gibson is the SEO Editor of PEOPLE Digital. Since joining the brand in 2021, she has contributed to a number of different verticals, writing and editing SEO content ranging from relationship timelines to TV and movie explainers. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Kelsie worked at POPSUGAR as the Celebrity and Entertainment editor, where she wrote and edited content and conducted various interviews for online and video at press junkets, red carpets, and events such as Tribeca Film Festival. She was also formerly at Bustle, Tiger Beat, and Her Campus and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 6, 2022 10:31 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Netflix's true-crime series Inventing Anna captivated audiences when it premiered on Feb. 11. The limited series starring Julia Garner tells the wild true story of fraudster Anna Sorokin, who posed as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey while living in N.Y.C. In addition to scamming countless wealthy socialites, Sorokin also swindled several prominent banks and hotels during her time in the Big Apple. Since Sorokin's sentencing in 2019, there have been several adaptations of the infamous story — including a book written by her former friend Rachel Williams titled My Friend Anna and a yet-to-be-released series from HBO — but the upcoming Netflix show is based on the New York article "How Anna (Sorokin) Delvey Tricked New York's Party People" by Jessica Pressler. Learn more about the true story of Anna Delvey and where she is today ahead. New Movies and Shows Coming to Netflix in February, Including Sweet Magnolias and Inventing Anna TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty; Nicole Rivelli/Netflix Who is Anna Delvey? Anna Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, was born on Jan. 23, 1991, in Domodedovo, a town outside of Moscow, Russia, but predominantly grew up in Germany. She and her brother were raised in a middle-class family; her father drove a truck and her mother once owned a small convenience store. At age 19, Sorokin left Germany to pursue a fashion degree in Paris, and eventually took on the name Anna Delvey. In summer 2013, she attended Fashion Week in New York on behalf of Purple magazine, where she was working at the time, and eventually opted to stay in the city. Following her conviction, Sorokin is not in contact with her parents and they did not attend her trial. Her father has previously stated that he has disowned her, telling DailyMailTV in April 2019, "'I do not have any influence on her life and what she does. It is down to her what she has done." TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images What crimes did Anna Delvey commit? While in N.Y.C., Sorokin paraded as a wealthy German heiress to infiltrate herself into the inner circle of the city's biggest socialites. During her time in the city, she scammed countless people, hotels, and banks, often using invalid credit cards or fake bank statements to create the illusion of wealth. She even created the idea of the Anna Delvey Foundation, a private club and art foundation, to entice wealthy donors and further her brand. After bouncing from hotel to hotel and repeatedly not paying her bills, Sorokin was evicted from several hotels. In October 2017, Sorokin was arrested during a sting operation. At the time, she was staying at an addiction treatment facility in Los Angeles County, California. During her prosecution, it was estimated that she stole around $275,000. On April 25, 2019, Sorokin was found guilty of eight charges, including attempted grand larceny in the first degree, grand larceny in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree, and theft of services. That May, she was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison, fined $24,000, and ordered to pay restitution of about $199,000. Where is Anna Delvey now? After her trial, Sorokin was sent to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility before being transferred to Albion Correctional Facility in New York. In February 2021, she was released early from prison and immediately returned to Instagram. However, that March, she was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying her visa. Sorokin is currently awaiting deportation to Germany after spending nearly a year in U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention. Despite previous reports that Sorokin had been released from custody and sent back to Germany, a spokesperson for ICE confirmed to PEOPLE on March 15, 2022 that she remains in a New York detention center "pending removal." German news outlet Der Spiegel reported that her deportation failed at the last moment when Sorokin refused to leave for the airport while her lawyers filed a motion to stay the decision. The outlet also reported that U.S. authorities are trying to secure a new date for her departure — presumably after the window for her to appeal expulsion closes on March 19. On Oct. 5, 2022, Sorokin scored a win in court when she was granted release from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Orange County, New York, Bloomberg reported. As part of her release, per Bloomberg, she has to pay a $10,000 bail and is banned from social media, where she often shared posts that showed off her seemingly lavish lifestyle for her friends and potential investors. According to The Daily Beast, Sorokin will be under "24-hour confinement at the provided residential address for the duration of her immigration proceedings" as she faces deportation. Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in "Inventing Anna". Aaron Epstein/Netflix Did Netflix pay Anna Delvey for Inventing Anna? In February 2022, Insider reported that Netflix paid Sorokin $320,000 for the rights to adapt her life story for Inventing Anna. The publication also reports that Sorokin has used $199,000 of the money she received from Netflix to pay restitution to the banks she owes, plus another $24,000 to settle state fines. In an open letter for Insider, Sorokin expressed her thoughts on the Netflix series, noting that "nothing about seeing a fictionalized version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing to me." "For a long while, I was hoping that by the time Inventing Anna came out, I would've moved on with my life," she wrote. "I imagined for the show to be a conclusion of sorts summing up and closing of a long chapter that had come to an end. Nearly four years in the making and hours of phone conversations and visits later, the show is based on my story and told from a journalist's perspective. And while I'm curious to see how they interpreted all the research and materials provided, I can't help but feel like an afterthought, the somber irony of being confined to a cell at yet another horrid correctional facility lost between the lines, the history repeating itself."