Anna Sorokin: who is 'the fake heiress' released from prison - and when is Netflix drama Inventing Anna out?

Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2019 (Getty Images)

The fake German heiress Anna Sorokin has been released from prison.

Sorokin posed as a multi-millionaire socialite named Ann Delvey scamming business acquaintances and several hotels out of $200,000 over a course of years.

She was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2019 but was released on February 12 for good behaviour.

It is now thought that Sorokin could be deported to Germany.

The 29-year-old’s crimes are set to be subject of Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna.

What did she do?

Sorokin earned the trust of New York’s elite partying circles, duping acquaintances into believing that she had a trust fund fortune of over $60m.

Sorokin, who changed her identity to Anna Delvey, maintained the scam for years, using the status to maintain a luxury lifestyle, eating out at the city’s finest restaurants and living at top end hotels in Manhattan.

The 29-year-old falsely claimed that her father was an oil baron, falsified bank records and forged identity records in order to maintain the scam.

During the course of her fraud Sorokin applied for a $22m loan to fund a private arts club which was ultimately rejected, but persuaded one bank to lend her $100,000.

Sorokin conned many by creating a charade that she was comfortable spending large amounts of money, often gifting friends expensive items and meals.

Sorokin actually came from a working class Russian family who relocated to Germany in 2007. Before moving to New York City Sorokin studied in London and performed an internship with magazine purple in Paris.

Her crimes went viral in 2018 following an investigation by magazine The Cut.

What was her sentence?

Anna Sorokin was charged with four counts of theft of services, three counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny following a trial in 2019.

She was cleared of two counts, including the most serious charge of attempting to steal $1m from the City National Bank.

During her sentencing New York Judge Diane Kiese said she was “stunned by the depth of the defendant’s deception”.

Following her sentencing Sorokin told the court “I apologise for the mistakes I made”.

When is the new Netflix series out?

The criminal exploits of Sorokin will be the subject of Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna.

The series will be created and produced by Grey’s Anatomy writer Shonda Rhimes.

Ozark actress Julia Garner will play the role of Delvey/Sorokin.

The ten part series does not yet have an official release date.