NEW YORK (HPD) — A U.S. immigration judge cleared the way Wednesday for Germany’s Anna Sorokin to remain in home detention while she appeals her deportation, if she meets certain conditions.
The 31-year-old woman has been in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) since March 2021, after spending more than three years behind bars for defrauding banks, hotels and friends to finance an opulent lifestyle. , posing as an heiress. Her case inspired the Netflix series “Inventing Anna.”
Sorokin must post a $10,000 bond, provide a residential address where he will stay for the duration of his immigration case and refrain from posting on social media, Manhattan Immigration Judge Charles Conroy said.
Immigration authorities say she overstayed her visa and must be returned to Germany.
Her lawyer, Duncan Levin, said they are “extremely pleased” with the decision to place her on home confinement.
“The judge legitimately recognized that Anna is not a danger to the community,” Levin said in a written statement. “While there are still some hurdles to overcome in terms of her release, Anna is delighted to be out of it so she can focus on appealing her wrongful conviction.”
ICE has not commented on the matter.
Sorokin was convicted in 2019 on multiple counts of theft. She was sentenced to between 4 and 12 years in prison and released for good behavior in February 2021. Immigration authorities picked her up a few weeks later.
Using the name Anna Delvey, Sorokin made her way among New York’s elite by posing as a socialite with a $67 million fortune abroad, prosecutors said. She falsely claimed to be the daughter of a diplomat or an oil tycoon.
Prosecutors said Sorokin forged documents and lied to get bank loans, stay in luxury hotels, get wealthy people to pay him for plane tickets and other expenses, stealing a total of $275,000.