Fake heiress found guilty after fooling banks and New York's elite to fund lavish lifestyle

NEW YORK CITY (KTLA) -- A woman was found guilty of stealing more than $200,000 from banks and friends while posing as a German heiress and scamming her way into New York society, the Manhattan District Attorney said.

Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, was convicted Thursday of attempted grand larceny, three grand larceny counts and a misdemeanor charge of theft of services, District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said. She is expected to be sentenced on May 9.

The 28-year-old managed to get thousands of dollars in bank loans, lived at a luxury Manhattan hotel and traveled on a private plane between November 2016 and August 2017 using bad checks and claiming she wired money for payments, court documents show.

“As proven at trial, Anna Sorokin committed real white-collar felonies over the course of her lengthy masquerade,” Vance said in a statement. “I thank the jury for its service in this complex trial, as well as my office's prosecutors and investigators for their meticulous investigation and resolve to ensure that Sorokin faces real justice for her many thefts and lies.”

She was also acquitted of one count each of first-degree attempted grand larceny and second-degree grand larceny.

“Our defense always focused on Ms. Sorokin's intent, and that her actions never passed the line to 'dangerously close' required by law for the attempt charge,” said her attorney Todd Spodek in a text message. “I am pleased the jury focused on these issues and acquitted her of those charges.”

Sorokin was accused of claiming to be a German heiress and attempting to secure a $22 million loan from City National Bank in November 2016, saying she intended to open a private club. She told bank employees her loan would be secured by a foreign bank and used false documents to prove she had multimillion-dollar accounts abroad, an indictment said.

But the bank turned her down because she didn't have enough “cash flow to make loan payments.”