Who is Anna Delvey, the fake heiress in Netflix’s Inventing Anna? She swindled thousands from New York’s elite, wore Yves Saint Laurent to court and wrote Donald Trump a jail survival guide

Feb 12 , 2022

Who is Anna Delvey, the fake heiress who once conned New York’s elite, and the subject of new Netflix series Inventing Anna? Photo: @RandyMorehall/Twitter

Anna Delvey, born Anna Sorokin, is portrayed by Emmy-winning actress Julia Garner in Netflix’s Inventing Anna, produced by Shonda Rhimes, the powerhouse behind hit show Bridgerton

Delvey donned luxury fashion such as Miu Miu to court and, despite being convicted, even gained celebrity fans like Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s girlfriend, Julia Fox

Anna Delvey, now 31, is the subject of Netflix’s new docuseries Inventing Anna, which premiered on February 11. From 2013 to 2017, Delvey infiltrated elite circles in New York City and, over a 10-month period, scammed contacts out of US$275,000 after claiming she was expecting to inherit US$67 million.

So how exactly did she swindle friends, associates and businesses?

She used her persona to get a fashion internship

Anna Delvey. Photo: @theannadelvey/Instagram

Russian-born Anna Sorokin moved to Germany when she was 16 and, after studying fashion at University of the Arts London’s Central Saint Martins College, she went on to secure an internship at Purple magazine in 2013 under the guise that she came from well-connected circles. She also started calling herself Anna Delvey.

Claiming to come from an aristocratic family, she forged bank statements in an attempt to get a US$22 million loan and start a private members’ club. She flaunted her fake wealth by flying on private jets for free and hosting friends at expensive restaurants, evading the bill by transferring it to her hotel tab.

A friend conned out of US$60,000 helped bring her down

Delvey persuaded then-Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel DeLoache Williams to lend her US$60,000 to pay for a luxury trip to Morocco. Her pal cut her off after she realised she was being scammed.

But her former bestie was later approached by investigators and the European fraudster’s fantasy world collapsed in 2017 when she was arrested on theft of services for not paying for hotel stays amounting to US$50,000.

She made the courtroom her designer runway

Anna Delvey took the opportunity to wear designer looks in the courtroom. Photo: @annadelveycourtlooks/Instagram

The designer fashion-loving conwoman caused a stir before her 2019 sentencing as she delayed the trial by causing a fuss over her outfits. She hired a stylist to dress her in brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Miu Miu, and refused to enter the courtroom on days when she only had a high street wardrobe.