Fake Heiress Scams Banks By Asking For $22M Loan To Open NYC Club, Prosecutors Say

SOHO, NY — A woman posing as an heiress stole $275,000 in a 10-month bank scam by depositing bad checks, Prosecutors said. She's also accused of stealing $62,000 from a friend.

In one scam, Anna Sorkin, 26, who also was known as Anna Delvey, posed as a German heiress while trying to get a loan to open a private club, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said in statement.

"This defendant’s alleged criminal conduct spans from check fraud to six-figure stolen loans and includes schemes that resulted in a free trip to Morocco and travel on private planes," Vance said.

She also used stolen money to pay a $30,000 bill at 11 Howard, a luxury hotel in Soho, according to prosecutors. Her attorney says it was not Sorokin's "intent" to steal from anyone.

Sorokin started stealing money in 2016, when she she showed a Midtown investment group fake financial documents while positing as the heiress, prosecutors said. Sorokin told an employee she needed a $22 million loan to open a private club, according to Vance's office.

The group, Fortress Investment Group, told Sorokin she needed $100,000 to be considered for the loan, which Sorokin allegedly obtained by convincing a different bank to let her overdraft her account. Sorokin continued to build an increasingly complex scheme in 2017, taking out multiple loans and lines of credit and cashing bad checks, authorities said.

She ultimately withdrew $55,000 of the $100,000 loan. Sorokin used the borrowed money to buy expensive personal training sessions and to shop at Forward by Elyse Walker, Apple, and Net-a-Porter, Vance's office said.

She also deposited $160,000 in bad checks in her bank account, using some of the money to cover a $30,000 bill at the high-end 11 Howard, according to authorities.

Sorokin continued the alleged scam by inviting a friend on a free trip to Morocco. When Sorokin’s debit card was declined, she asked her friend to front her the money, with promises that she would be reimbursed, prosecutors said. Sorokin’s friend racked up a $62,000 bill on travel expenses and to rent a private Moroccan villa with a swimming pool and butler. Sorokin never payed the friend back, according to authorities.

Sorokin faces multiple grand larceny charges.

"Ms. Sorokin entered this country legally, provided all of her pedigree information to the banks, and attempted to secure funding for a business venture," Sorokin's attorney Todd Spodek said in a statement to Patch. "The burden is on the banks to conduct their due diligence and to fund any loans according to their risk analysis and any issues are a civil matter rather than a criminal one. At no point, was it Ms. Sorokin's intent to steal goods or services from anyone."

This post has been updated with comment from Sorokin's attorney.

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