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Phony Heiress and Convicted Fraudster Anna Sorokin Allegedly Owes Ex-Lawyer $152K, Lawsuit Claims
Anna Sorokin, the fake German heiress and convicted fraudster, served about two years in prison and was then the subject of deportation proceedings, from which her former attorney's lawsuit stems.
Anna Sorokin — the fake German heiress and convicted fraudster — owes her former attorney more than $152,000, according to a new lawsuit.
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Friday, also alleges that Sorokin made false accusations against the lawyer in an attempt to not pay up, the New York Post reported.
The attorney, Audrey A. Thomas, was brought on by Sorokin in 2020 to appeal her criminal conviction, and to represent the con artist in her immigration case. Sorokin fired Thomas in 2022, and filed a suit against her, alleging that Thomas withheld records while representing her in her deportation case.
Thomas' own suit claims that Sorokin has been making up her issues with the now disbarred lawyer to avoid paying “the astronomical legal fees that the defendant ran up with the firm."
Sorokin — who posed as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey — was found guilty in 2019 of charges that included grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, and theft of services. She was accused of scamming friends, banks and businesses out of $275,000, as Oxygen.com previously reported.
She was sentenced to four-to-12 years in prison but was released in February of 2021 on parole. Sorokin was then arrested just six weeks later by Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to an expired visa.
RELATED: Anna Sorokin Says She's Ready To 'Fix Things' After Being Released From ICE Custody
A judge ruled in October of 2022 to release the Russian-born con artist from the federal ICE facility in New York where she was being held while she waits for immigration proceedings. At the time, she was also ordered to post a $10,000 bond, and be confined to a residential address throughout the length of the proceedings.
Thomas' new lawsuit claims that Sorokin "was able to remain in the United States because while she was taken to the airport and literally sitting in the gate area with her belongings in garbage bags, the Plaintiffs [Thomas] filed a writ and secured a stay from deportation removal and thus the Defendant [Sorokin] was not removed from the United States."
Thomas was disbarred on Nov. 9, 2022 after she was accused of robbing an elderly client of money, the New York Post reported at the time. In that matter, court documents showed that Thomas was accused of misappropriating $630,000 in escrow funds from a client selling her apartment in Brooklyn, New York in 2013.
In response to Thomas' disbarring, Sorokin told Insider in November, "I'm happy that the real story is being told and shedding light on my issues. I'm mostly comforted that she cannot do damage to anyone else's case and life." Sorokin also taunted Thomas with a mock book cover she drew up, titled, "How to Get Disbarred in 10 Days."
The suit filed last week by Thomas states, "The disbarment of Audrey Thomas, does not negate the balance [Sorokin] owes as the relationship between [Thomas and Sorokin] ended on or about April 14, 2022 and the final invoice was sent to the Defendant with the notice of right to arbitrate on or about July 26, 2022."
It continues, "The Disbarment pertains to a family member of... Thomas, that is not in any way shape or form connected to [Sorokin] and or the facts and circumstances that gives rise to this civil action being filed."
