On a weekday morning, Anna Sorokin is under house arrest in an apartment complex in New York that has been deemed to be immediately dangerous to life. So she starts a podcast in an effort to gain attention from others and as a means of escaping her ennui.
The Associated Press recently interviewed her in her East Village apartment.
She stated, “So many people were able to kind of segue into somebody different after becoming known for bad things.”
According to her, “The Anna Delvey Show” has “productive breaking rules as its main theme.”
I’m under constant home arrest. I’m only permitted to leave for medical crises, parole check-ins, and ICE check-ins, the woman explained. A life-size cutout of Sorokin by artist Kenny Schachter is behind her, and just like the real thing, it is outfitted with an ankle monitoring device.
She pretended to be a German heiress with a $67 million trust fund under the name Anna Delvey in order to obtain loans, run up debt, and purchase a historic building for an exclusive arts club. She invented a line about being the daughter of an oil baron or ambassador. She was arrested in late 2017 and found guilty in 2019 on a number of counts of theft and larceny for defrauding banks, hotels, and rich New Yorkers.
She received a prison term of four to twelve years.Sorokin, a German citizen, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after serving three years in prison, over half of which were spent at the Rikers Island jail complex. She was later released from home detention while awaiting a deportation hearing after posting a $10,000 bond in the fall.
In order to explain her side of the story, she is now utilizing her free time at home by establishing a weekly podcast series with a variety of professional and famous guests. Future episodes of the podcast, according to Reunion Audio, will feature interviews between Sorokin and Ottessa Moshfegh, Emily Ratajkowski, Julia Fox, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, and others.
The Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” which centered on a New York magazine article, was inspired by Sorokin’s fraud case. The character of Sorokin, who was portrayed by three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner, said she was an advisor on the program but had “no control” over the outcome.
“For me to claim that I’ve been cured would be to acknowledge that I had a problem before. I mean, I was young. I made several errors, she said. I’m attempting to pick up tips from them. My criminal case is currently on direct appeal.
Sorokin stated, “I know some of the stuff like obviously did not happen. But since the show is essentially a Shonda Rhimes interpretation, it’s not really my responsibility to review it in detail.
While Sorokin was incarcerated, her fan network expanded and even organized an art exhibition called “Free Anna Delvey” that featured some of her drawings as well as creations by other artists. She has since tried to sell pencil sketches for up to $25,000 in the past.
She has been considering doing it for long time and the podcast allows her the chance to reclaim some of the narrative control.
I intended to begin recording while I was incarcerated, specifically over the jail phone, because, as you may know, some rappers record entire albums while they are behind bars. Why not record a podcast, I thought. stated Sorokin.
Sorokin described her stay in prison as a “transformative experience,” adding that she is no longer the same person who was detained in 2017.
“Since my arrest, I have been incarcerated for a little over five years. Therefore, I simply changed. I discovered a lot, she remarked. Her ankle bracelet is apparent while she wears a white blouse, her distinctive black-ribbon tie, and dark pants.
She displays it by lifting her trouser leg, explaining how it functions as she does so.
But if you bounce, say, a $500 check, that’s fraud, according to Sorokin: “Sometimes you see the banks all conduct the biggest fraud on a huge scale.”
“It’s like you and Lindsay Lohan,” Cumming retorted, referring to the person who was placed under house arrest in Los Angeles more than ten years ago.
Sorokin thinks it’s simple for her to invite visitors onto the show because of her fame.
She boasted her ability to bring anyone up here, “I can get pretty much anybody up here.”
She won’t be able to host one particular person, though: Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, who just started serving an 11-year prison term for orchestrating a blood-testing scam that become a parable about greed in silicon valley.
Though she doesn’t think she has much in touch with him, she would also think about inviting U.S. Representative George Santos on the program. The New York Republican recently faced 13 counts of charges, including fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds, for fabricating a Wall Street dealmaker persona while running for Congress.
The “Inventing Anna” series’ subject is currently waiting to see if listeners would check out the podcast, which will be accessible this week on all major platforms.