Anna Sorokin, Grifter Who Posed As Wealthy Heiress, Details Life In Prison In New Interview

Infamous grifter Anna Sorokin, who famously conned her way into New York’s downtown elite until her 2017 arrest, opened up during her first interview following her release last week about life behind bars and even implied that she was viewed as a celebrity while incarcerated.

Sorokin, 30, spoke to Insider, detailing her time behind bars and her plans for the next steps in her life. When asked if she had “celebrity status” in prison and if the guards knew who she was, Sorokin replied, “Absolutely,” adding that “every single one” of the guards knew her story. Some, she said, tried to “f—ck with [her],” while others were “very unprofessional” to the point that they would admit to following her on Instagram.

Still, Sorokin said she was able to enjoy some perks, explaining earlier in the interview that her connections landed her a preferred job in the prison’s gym.

"It's about who you know. It's kind of like the scene in New York, but amplified. Because if you know the right officers, they're going to get you the right job,” she explained. “And so I had a job in a gym because I just wanted to work out when no one else would go. And they give it to me. It's all about who you know and what people think of you.”

In April 2019, a jury found Sorokin guilty of four counts of theft of services, three counts of grand larceny, and one count of attempted grand larceny, NBC News reported. She was accused of pretending to be the daughter of a wealthy businessman or diplomat after moving to New York in 2013, then using this front to defraud her new friends and various businesses and banks out of copious amounts of money and services before she was finally caught.

A judge sentenced her to between four and 12 years in prison for her crimes, according to NBC News. She was released on parole Thursday after serving four years.

Sorokin, who used the name Anna Delvey during her various grifts, told Insider that her next move is working on a book that’s “[her] take on the criminal justice system and [her] jail experience,” as well as a currently-undefined video project called “Anna Delvey TV.”

“So many people, I see, are trying to tell my narrative. I just decided to do something on my own,” she said to Insider.

She is also appealing her case, according to the outlet.

Sorokin’s story is set to be turned into a Netflix series with producer Shonda Rhimes working behind the scenes, Deadline reported. Writer and actor Lena Dunham is also working on a project involving Sorokin’s story for HBO, according to the outlet.

Netflix paid Sorokin $320,000 for the rights to her story, and she has since used $223,000 of that towards paying restitution to her victims as well as fines, according to Insider. Despite prosecutors’ previous objections to her being allowed to profit off of her crimes, a judge has since ruled that her funds be unfrozen so that she can pay back the financial institutions she owes, among other expenses.