The Fake Socialite Who Scammed New York's Elite

She was mentioning members of New York's elite who slept in opulent hotels, spent $400 on eyelash extensions, and ate off-menu items at some of the city's most expensive restaurants—places I couldn't get into even if I volunteered to pay twice and take a seat in the kitchen. Even for items that people don't tip for, she frequently left $100 dollars as tips.

The point is that despite having a lot of money, nobody around her was actually aware of its source. She was reportedly born to Russian oil oligarchs.

Excuse me, I have to get a drink.

No. I heard they're billionaires but in green solar energy.

Bye. I said bye.

Bro I heard her parents were diplomats and she got all her money from a trust fund bro. You spot me bro?

None of those statements are accurate. The parents of Anna Delvey are common folks. In Germany, her father is a truck driver. Apparently, she's just a pretty skilled liar. And those lies caused hundreds of thousands of dollars to be stolen from banks, hotels, and restaurants. Who, for many years, deceived the New York party scene into believing she was someone other than who she was. Her tale is interesting and weird. Friends, get ready to buckle up because this is it.Anna is frequently seen at parties in the Hamptons and New York City.

You name it—art gallery openings, pricey meals, opulent gyms, the Surf Lodge in Montauk—she was there. Anna had a major objective at the time. In particular, she was looking to purchase a building on Park Avenue South in New York City.

It is enormous and has a church from the 19th century on the grounds. This is prime if you're not from New York. You would want to own this business if it had a monopoly. You would want to use it to construct hotels and show your grandma how successful you were. Anna was describing her ambitions for this area to anyone who will listen.

She envisioned it as a vibrant visual arts venue with galleries, pop-up shops, eateries, bars, a bakery, and a juice bar. But once more, purchasing such space would be quite costly. Anna discussed loans with banks and consulted financial advisors in order to help her secure this desirable location. even employed a PR firm. She seemed to be picking up speed before poof!

She departs from New York, informing a few acquaintances that she had to leave the country for a short time to travel to Cologne, Germany, due to a visa difficulty.

Anna returned to New York in February 2017 and settled into 11 Howard. She then accrued a large amount of debt. She would eat at Le Coucou, a restaurant run by 11 Howard, and participate in pricey personal training sessions.

She may therefore add the cost of these meals to her hotel bill. Anna was a regular at the restaurant, and the head chef didn't mind cooking her complex dishes that weren't on the menu because she was so charming. At Denny's, I doubt they'd even permit that. We've now reached Anna's first rough patch.

11 Her costs were mounting, and Howard realized they didn't have a valid credit card on file. Keep in mind that her Le Coucou bills are also on the bill. It is such an honor to be able to say, "Yeah, just put that on my tab." While those of us who tried to get free refills at Mickey D's were screamed at. Anna was still able to buy herself a little more time by wiring some of her bill to 11 Howard, but not enough time or money.

During this dispute, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway annual stockholders meeting was being held in Omaha, Nebraska, so Anna flew out of the city on a $35,000 private plane. Oh, I see. She spends $35,000 on a private airplane while simultaneously having financial difficulties. I'll assure you that we'll revisit that.

After returning from Nebraska, Anna made contact with Vanity Fair picture editor Rachel Williams. In May 2017, Anna, Rachel, and a small group of other travelers traveled to Morocco and stayed at a posh resort.

We're talking absolute apex here. Because she couldn't afford the trip, Anna effectively replied, "No trouble, all on me," according to Rachel in her Vanity Fair article. We're talking about the cost of the trip of a lifetime for Rachel, which included travel, lodging, and meals.

Given that this is The Vault, a show about crime rather than about people having an amazing time and going on trips, you may be able to predict where this is headed.The hotel began pestering Anna for a valid credit card while she was traveling, but Anna didn't have one.

At first, they were cordial about it, supposing there had been a mistake.However, the hotel eventually came down hard on their group. For this, hotel employees were let go. Here, there was a great deal of pressure. The staff then wanted a credit card from someone inside Anna and Rachel's room. That individual turned out to be Rachel.

According to Rachel, Anna was irate that the hotel was delaying her and told her, "Listen, it's just a little mix-up."I'll pay you back in a week if you can cover this.

Rachel was making less than $60,000 annually at the time and was currently $62,000 in debt. There was a fantastic article on the trip in Vanity Fair if you want more information. In June 2017, when Anna returned to New York City, they had locked her out and taken all of her belongings, so she was unable to return to 11 Howard.

Anna then booked a room at The Beekman, another five-star hotel. but also received the ax from them. There, she had run up a $11,000 bill. I'm still shocked that these places tolerated her.

go without a functional credit card right away.But Anna's problem is that. These places simply felt she was good for the money since she was so skilled at portraying this wealthy persona.Anna's predicament was getting worse in the meantime.

Her primary objective, the Park Avenue South property, was lost to another buyer. The fact is, she could have easily earned enough money to reimburse everyone had that business been successful.

In addition, she was followed by the media. The New York Post published an article in which it questioned the identity of the woman who kept staying at five-star hotels while avoiding paying the bill, but they weren't the only ones to do so. It became out that Anna was already known to the New York D.A.

Anna was taken into custody and accused with grand theft, forging documents, theft of services, and other offenses. She is accused of defrauding banks, eateries, hotels, and pals like Rachel out of about $275,000. Anna, whose true name is Anna Sorokin, was born in Russia in 1991 and now faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Remember that much of her efforts were focused on acquiring land for her Visual Arts Center.

She allegedly went to National Bank in late 2016 and asked for a 22 million dollar loan, saying in her documents that she had assets worth 60 million British pounds. She attempted to get that funding at that time. She was successful in the meeting, which is one of the most incredible examples of keeping your cool. National Bank merely requested that Anna wire them $100,000, which would pay for their legal bills as well as the expenditures associated with conducting a thorough investigation.

It wasn't too difficult to come up with the cash. She allegedly went to Fortress bank and announced, "I have a loan coming for 22 million."I only require $100,000, and if I receive that amount, I will be able to immediately repay you.

When Fortress entered, it took the money and gave it to the National Bank so they could look into the woman. She has also been caught placing phony cheques at financial institutions like City Bank and Signature Bank.

She managed to withdraw money before the banks were aware that the checks were invalid in any way. Anna usually carried money on her, for that reason.Her credit cards were never used. She established a reputation because she lacked credit. All throughout town, people spotted her flashing cash. But then everything collapsed.

She renounced her agreement with National Bank by February 2017. They had already spent $55,000 of the $100,000 she handed them to investigate her at that moment.She was able to wire some of her bill as she went to 11 Howard because the 45 grand that was returning to her had bought her some time.

But as we all know, Nebraska. Too little time.She was truly hopeless without the government money.She owed Rachel, many hotels, the PR firm she hired, and restaurants where she had parties, but there's another twist.Do you recall that private jet? Yeah. Somehow, she obtained that vacation on an IOU.

Anna seemed to have become the celebrity she supposed to be as a result of the extensive media coverage of her narrative. Even a Netflix series starring Jennifer Lawrence and Anna is reportedly in the works. That is the height of celebrity. If The Vault was ever made into a movie, Macaulay Culkin would play me. Anna's trial is scheduled for early 2019.

It resembled a small circus. As well as a very fancy attorney who opened his opening statement by referencing Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, Anna also engaged a fashion coordinator to help with her wardrobe.

Anna actually repeatedly postponed the trial since she didn't like what she was wearing. Anna was ultimately convicted guilty of all eight charges. She was found not guilty of both the attempted grand larceny allegation stemming from her effort to get the $22 million loan and the charge stemming from her allegedly taking $62,000 from Rachel for the trip to Morocco. Anna Sorokin was given a prison term of four to twelve years. She must also pay a $24,000 fine and $200,000 in restitution.

The truth is, had she accepted the plea agreement, she would have received a less sentence. It only offered her a year in jail.Anna stated in a New York Times interview that she wasn't remorseful and likely wouldn't think twice about doing it again.

She might not get the chance, though, since US Customs and Immigration said they'll try to deport her back to Germany after she's released from custody. I sure hope they're listening over there. Who doesn't enjoy a good true crime finance tale? I'm grateful.