How ‘Anna Delvey’ Conned New York

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New York is a place where people come to make their fortune. Bloomberg. Murdoch. DeGrom.

For Anna Sorokin (you might know her as Anna Delvey), New York wa

From the moment Ms. Sorokin arrived in the city in 2014 she seemed to turn Gotham into an archipelago of Pollyannas. She said her dream was to build a members-only arts club on Park Avenue South. She handed out $100 bills as tips, wore fancy clothes and lived in elegant hotels.

Yesterday, Ms. Sorokin, 28, was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for grand larceny and other charges.

Ms. Sorokin's scandal was made for social media: She was young, her marks were luxurious and the deception was simplistic enough to share in 280-character tweets.

Here's what you need to know:

Who is Anna Sorokin?

Ms. Sorokin was born in Russia in 1991, moved to Germany in 2007 and later went to Paris. Around that time, she began calling herself Anna Delvey, the name she used in New York. She also claimed to be a German heiress.

Ms. Sorokin's scandal, like its protagonist, didn't register much on the public consciousness until it became the subject of a nearly 8,0

In the article, the journalist Jessica Pressler spoke to Ms. Sorokin , her parents and victims, and unspooled a dizzying tale of fraud. Ms. Sorokin's parents were not wealthy, but they did pay some of her bills. "We always paid for her accommodations, her rent, and other matters," they told Ms. Pressler. "She assured us these costs were the best investment."

In New York, Ms. Sorokin became a socialite. The Cut reported that she networked at the famed Le Coucou restaurant;

What was she convicted of?

Ms. Sorokin essentially ran up large bills at various hotels, restaurants and even with a private jet operator. She either did not pay those bills, or persuaded other people to pay and promised reimbursement.

Ms. Sorokin did not make good on those promises.

[ Anna Sorokin was sentenced to prison. "I apologize for the mistakes I made," she said.]

How much were those bills?

About $275,000, according to the Manhattan district attorney.

Among her expenses were bills for $503.76 at the W New York hotel, $11,518.59 at the Beekman Hotel, $30,000 at the 11 Howard hotel

She also applied for millions of dollars in loans from at least two banks while claiming to already have millions of dollars in assets overseas.

When one bank asked for a fee as part of the process to secure a loan, Ms. Sorokin persuaded a different bank to extend her a line of credit for $100,000.

Did Ms. Sorokin pay her bills?

She never paid her tab at the W New York, according to The Cut. She paid the 11 Howard bill by depositing bad checks and withdrawing funds before the bank realized what was happening.

In Morocco, Ms. Sorokin persuaded a friend who was traveling with her to cover the bill until Ms. Sorokin could gain access to her money. Ms. Sorokin paid that friend $5,000 and offered "Kafka-esque" explanations for not having the rest of the cash, the friend told The Cut. (Ms. Sorokin was not convicted of charges related to this incident.)

At one restaurant, she supplied credit card numbers that didn't work. Her dining partner that evening paid the $286 tab.

Why did hotels and banks fall for this?

She had real $100 bills. She acted rich . The people around her were rich. For some, that was enough.

In New York, there are plenty of people whose sources of income are, to put it charitably, opaque. But as long as the money they spend is real, some in the city's fanciest quarters are quite content to accept a certain level of mystery about where the cash is coming from.

Until the checks start bouncing.

From The Times

"Camp" at the Met: This year's Costume Institute exhibition is finally here .

A former member of the Nxivm "sex cult" describes the inner workings of an "evil" group .

Measles outbreak: Opposition to vaccines extends well beyond ultra-Orthodox Jews in New York.

Despite Eric Garner's death and a $35 million program, chokeholds are still used by the police .

[Want more news from New York and around the region? Check out our full coverage .]

The Mini Crossword: Here is today's puzzle .

What we're reading

The police are looking for a man who punched a bus driver in Queens. [ New York Post ]

A man in New Jersey filmed a fight between two bears that took place in front of his home. [ ABC New York ]

Is Hudson Yards already showing signs of aging? [ Village Spoke ]

Walt Whitman's 200th birthday is on May 31. Will that help the Brooklyn home where he lived become a landmark? [ Brooklyn Daily Eagle ]

Coming up this weekend

Six award-winning poets come together for an evening of provocative poetry at the Rubin Museum in Manhattan. 7 p.m. [$22]

Browse the sidewalk sale on East Fordham Road in the Bronx. 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. [Free]

A dance party at the Brooklyn Museum marks the end of the "Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving" exhibition. 8 p.m. [$25. Tickets do not include admission to the exhibit.]

Saturday

Go stag or bring a date to Hot Rabbit's Gay Prom at Lot 45 Bushwick in Brooklyn. 10 p.m. [$20]

Taste delicacies of the African diaspora at the Africa Center in Manhattan. Noon [Free]

Sunday

Enjoy activities and food during the Japan Day Festival in Central Park. 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. [Free]

Attend an intimate classical music concert at the Roerich Museum in Manhattan. 5 p.m. [Free]

See the inaugural show of the Write-Offs , a production company showcasing new work, at the Liberty Bar in Manhattan. The show, "What We Deserve," explores romantic debacles. 8 p.m. [Free]

— Ana Fota

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times's culture pages.

And finally: Tell us who you are

The Times's Michael Gold writes:

I am a gay, Jewish-American, millennial, fitness-obsessed journalist.

This is a small declaration. But for me — and many others under the

Identity, which has become central to much cultural debate and political discussion, is morphing: The traditional binaries — heterosexual/homosexual, male/female, cisgender/transgender — are being acknowledged more widely as spectrums and, as they intersect with each other, dimensions.

People aren't limiting their definitions to sexuality, gender or race, and are including the specific communities to which they belong, naming experiences that have shaped them.

Leading up to World Pride in June, taking place in New York City you choose for yourself? We want to capture the ever-evolving ways in which we describe ourselves.

Fill out the form here to share #WhoIAm . We'll create an image for you to share on social media.

It's Friday — you made it through the week!

Metropolitan Diary: At the register

Dear Diary:

I was at work at the register at a large Manhattan retailer when a man I assumed was a customer approached me and asked how long I had worked there.

Seven and a half years, I said.

He asked if I had ever lost anything of value at work like a watch or jewelry.

Totally surprised, I told him I had lost a diamond ring about five years ago.

He asked what color it was.

I gave him a description: a white diamond in a platinum, diamond and marcasite setting from the 1920s, using my grandmother's engagement stone from 1913.

He took a small drawstring bag out of his pocket, untied it and shook something into the palm of his hand.

My ring!

When I asked him how he had it, he said it might have fallen off my finger while packing a shopping bag. Then he walked away with no further explanation.

— Carolyn Taranto

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