Convicted Scammer Anna Sorokin Released From Jail, but Barred From Social Media

Infamous scammer Anna Sorokin is no longer behind bars.

The Russian-born woman, better known by her alias Anna Delvey, was released from an upstate New York jail on Friday as she faces possible deportation. As part of her release, the 31-year-old con artist was ordered to post $10,000 bail, wear an electronic ankle monitor, and remain under 24-hour house arrest. People magazine reports the judge also prohibited Sorokin from using social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. 

Sorokin made national headlines after she scammed elite social circles by posing as a German heiress. Prosecutors alleged Sorokin had swindled more than $200,000 from associates, banks, five-star hotels, and other institutions during a years-long scheme. In 2019, she received a two-to-four-year prison sentence on multiple fraud charges, including grand larceny and theft of services. She was granted early release last year due to good behavior, but was arrested just six weeks later for overstaying her visa.

The woman, who also holds German citizenship, would spend the following 17 months in the Orange County Correctional Facility, where she made multiple bids to fight deportation and secure her release.

After a two-day hearing, Judge Charles Conroy went against prosecutors’ request and granted Sorokin’s release. He acknowledged that the woman “remains a present danger to the community and presents some flight risk,” but those risks could be “mitigated by specific alternatives to detention and monetary bond.”

“She will be required to abide by conditions of release imposed both by the New York State Parole Board and immigration authorities, which, combined with her status as a public figure, will make it particularly difficult for her to avoid detection,” the judge said. “For all of these reasons, the Court finds that [Sorokin’s] risk of flight sufficiently mitigated.”

Sorokin’s attorney, former acting ICE director John Sandweg, praised the decision.

“She hasn’t been accused of committing a crime since 2017,” he said. “And the evidence clearly demonstrated that any risk she does pose can be adequately managed through supervision, electronic monitoring, parole, and the supervision of ICE.” 

Sorkin’s story was depicted in Netflix’s true crime limited series Inventing Anna, produced by Shonda Rhimes. The drama starred Julia Garner as the titular character, and went on to receive several Emmy nominations, including Primetime Emmy Awards    Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.