Anna Sorokin, the fake German heiress accused of swindling friends and businesses out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to bankroll her lavish Manhattan lifestyle, was found guilty on Wednesday.
After traveling the world and living in expensive boutique hotels, the 28-year-old was arrested in October 2017 and charged with grand larceny and theft of services for allegedly stealing about $275,000 in a 10-month spree. Manhattan prosecutors alleged Sorokin told “lie after lie” to maintain the lavish lifestyle she couldn’t afford, often providing forged financial records and bank statements to persuade others she had millions of euros overseas.
To prove Sorokin’s disregard for money, prosecutors detailed in court how she once spent $40,000 in just eight days. While staying at the W Hotel in Manhattan, she allegedly “barricaded herself” in her room and refused to let anyone inside, eventually spending $679 in miscellaneous expenses.To fund her private art club, the 28-year-old allegedly created bogus bank statements while applying for a $22 million loan, creating a “team of imaginary assistants” in an effort to expand her credit line.
“I wish I had never met Anna. If I could go back in time and not be where I am today, you bet I would,” Williams, a former Vanity Fair photo editor and author of the 2018 article, said last week. “In hindsight, it’s easier to figure out the times where there were red flags. But at the time, I did not find it strange.”