New York, March 16 (BUS) – Anna Sorokin, a convicted fraudster who claimed to be a German heiress to fund a luxury lifestyle in New York, is making a new attempt to combat deportation, a lawyer said.
Sorokin, whose plot inspired the latest Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” was transferred to the US Customs and immigration authorities nearly a year ago. Attorney Manny Arora said she remained imprisoned in New York’s Hudson Valley on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
He said she filed papers on Monday seeking to prevent her being expelled from the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement only said on Tuesday it was still in the agency’s custody.
Sorokin, who was convicted in 2019 and spent more than three years behind bars, has been challenging deportation ever since. An appeals immigration judge last month refused to prevent the 31-year-old German citizen from being deported.
Using the name Anna Delphi, Sorokin made her way into elite social circles in New York by portraying herself as a socialite with a fortune of $67 million (€61 million) abroad, according to prosecutors. She falsely claimed to be the daughter of a diplomat or an oil baron.
Prosecutors said Sorokin falsified records and lied to get banks to lend and luxury hotels to allow her to stay and wealthy people in Manhattan to cover her plane tickets and other expenses, resulting in a total of $275,000 theft.
Her lawyer described her as an ambitious entrepreneur who outdid her head financially and was simply buying time to pay off her debts.
MI