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Anna Delvey Is Officially Out of Jail

Anna Sorokin — or Anna Delvey. Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Con and visual artist Anna “Delvey” Sorokin has been released from ICE detention and moved into a fifth-floor walk-up one bedroom apartment in the East Village, per the New York Times. She’ll remain there under house arrest, provided she complies with a court order to stay off social media, among other conditions.

Her attorney previously confirmed her release to the Daily Beast, which reported that Sorokin’s “notoriety actually helped her get out of jail” by making it harder for her to flee. “She will be required to abide by conditions of release imposed both by the New York State Parole Board and immigration authorities, which, combined with her status as a public figure, will make it particularly difficult for her to avoid detection,” U.S. immigration judge Charles Conroy ruled Wednesday. Sorokin has also “demonstrated interest in pursuing legitimate employment in the United States,” he added, “pursuits that will face heavy public scrutiny.” Indeed. Her attorney, Duncan Levin, told the Daily Beast that Sorokin would have to post a $10,000 bond before her release, but overall felt “thrilled to be getting out so she can focus on appealing her wrongful conviction.”

Sorokin was convicted of various fraud charges (grand larceny; theft of services; stealing over $200,000 from various marks while posing as a German heiress bent on launching a Manhattan social club) in April 2019 and subsequently sentenced to between 4 and 12 years in prison. She got an early release for good behavior and was on parole in February 2021, having used money from the deal for Netflix’s Inventing Anna to pay restitution. But about six weeks later, ICE agents picked her up on an expired visa and placed her in detention. (Sorokin claims they grabbed her at a visa-renewal office.) She was already infamous by that time, but Inventing Anna ushered in a different kind of fame: podcast interviews, public beefs, a “Free Anna Delvey” group show (remember I said she was a visual artist?) featuring her sketches, sort of, as well as a solo exhibit, hosted from behind bars.

In June, Sorokin told NBC that she has been “trying to move away from this, like, quote, unquote scammer persona” and had decided, improbably, that the NFT business might be a good way to do that. Also, she announced her intention to launch a law firm last spring, though to the best of my knowledge she is not licensed to practice law. Whatever! Details! The point is that Conroy is right: Interest in a number of employment pursuits has been expressed, and legitimacy is often a subjective question. Sorokin was released on Friday, Oct. 7, and will stay under “24-hour confinement” as her “immigration proceedings” continue.

In her first interview since her release, Sorokin teased her future plans to the New York Times, though she shied away from saying anything too specific. Asked what she was most excited about doing now that she’s out of detention, Sorokin answered with a vague, “Finding my way back.” She did, however, say that she was interested in pursuing her art career and that she was working on a podcast “with different guests for each episode,” but was still in the early stages. She’s also working on a book and told the Times that she would “love to do something with criminal-justice reform to kind of highlight the struggles of other girls.”

Despite her many projects, Sorokin’s finances remain somewhat of a mystery. When asked how she was able to finance house arrest in Manhattan apartment, she told the Times, “I guess you’ll have to ask the government.” She then claimed that she paid for her bail and the three month rent advance on her apartment herself. And she plans on staying in New York City for the foreseeable future, saying, “So many people just can’t wait to see me do something crazy, or illegal, and go back to jail. I would not want to give them the satisfaction.”

This post has been updated.

Anna Delvey Is Officially Out of Jail