Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin was released from an upstate New York prison late Friday and transported to Manhattan, where she will remain under house arrest while she fights deportation.
The convicted fraudster, who has spent the past 18 months in ICE custody, was escorted out of the Orange County Jail around 10 p.m.
She was bundled into a white van that sped out a back door of the jail to avoid waiting media.
Sorokin, who also goes by the name Anna Delvey, was taken to a federal building in downtown New York City to be fitted with an ankle monitor before being released to her new apartment in the East Village.
Her lawyers successfully appealed to a judge to grant her release on Wednesday.
Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin was released from an upstate New York prison late Friday and transported to Manhattan, where she will remain under house arrest while she fights deportation
The convicted fraudster, who has spent the past 18 months in ICE custody, was escorted out of the Orange County Jail around 10 p.m.
Sorokin was bundled into a white van that sped out a back door of the prison to avoid waiting media
Sorokin, who also goes by the name Anna Delvey, was taken to a federal building in downtown New York City to be fitted with an ankle monitor before being released to her new apartment in the East Village
Her lawyers successfully appealed to a judge to grant her release on Wednesday
U.S. Immigration Judge Charles Conroy agreed, placing her under house arrest because “she has shown an interest in pursuing lawful employment in the United States, pursuits that will be subject to great public scrutiny.”
But the release was delayed as arrangements were made to post bail.
Judge Conroy said that because Sorokin, 31, is notorious, it would be difficult for her to fly under the radar and avoid detection.
‘She will be required to comply with conditions of release imposed by both the New York State Parole Board and immigration authorities, which combined with her status as a public figure will make it particularly difficult for her to avoid detection.
“For all these reasons, the Court finds that [Sorokin’s] the risk of flight adequately mitigated,” he said in his ruling.
U.S. Immigration Judge Charles Conroy agreed, placing Sorokin under house arrest because “she has shown an interest in pursuing lawful employment in the United States, pursuits that will be subject to great public scrutiny.”
Judge Conroy said that because Sorokin, 31, is notorious it would be difficult for her to fly under the radar and avoid detection
“She will be required to comply with conditions of release imposed by both the New York State Parole Board and immigration authorities, which, combined with her status as a public figure, will make it particularly difficult for her to avoid detection,” the judge said.
“For all these reasons, the Court finds that [Sorokin’s] the risk of flight adequately mitigated,” Conroy said in his ruling
Anna Sorokin leaves the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York
Sorokin’s immigration attorney John Sandweg said in a statement: ‘Immigration detention should be reserved for those who pose a danger to society or an unmanageable flight risk.
‘We are pleased that after 17 months of immigration detention and years after she completed her prison sentence, the court recognized that such detention was no longer appropriate for Ana.
“Make no mistake, she’s not getting a free pass,” Sandweg added. ‘She will continue to face deportation proceedings and her release will be closely monitored by the government.
‘However, as the court found, continued detention was unnecessary.’
Sorokin wants to stay in the United States, even though he does not have a visa. She originally comes from Russia, but also has ties to Germany.
Sorokin’s immigration attorney, John Sandweg, said in a statement: ‘Immigration detention should be reserved for those who pose a danger to society or an unmanageable flight risk
“We are pleased that after 17 months of immigration detention and years after she completed her prison sentence, the court recognized that such detention was no longer appropriate for Ana,” Sandweg said
“Make no mistake, she’s not getting a free pass,” Sandweg added. ‘She will continue to face deportation proceedings and her release will be closely monitored by the government
She rose to fame in 2018 after being arrested for fleecing luxury hotels and restaurants in Manhattan out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Her crimes later became the subject of the popular Netflix series Inventing Anna.
Sorokin has kept busy behind bars with numerous media and podcast interviews.
She has auctioned off her prison sketches and has also written poetry.
She wrote a piece for DailyMail.com last month complaining that the US immigration system is broken, saying she has spent 18 months ‘founding the sinkhole of America’s immigration system’.
Sorokin gained notoriety in 2018 after being arrested for fleecing luxury hotels and restaurants in Manhattan out of hundreds of thousands of dollars
Sorokin has kept busy behind bars with numerous media and podcast interviews
Sorokin wrote a piece for DailyMail.com last month complaining that the US immigration system is broken, saying she has spent 18 months ‘founding the sinkhole of America’s immigration system’
‘Once you are in ICE custody, what happens next is entirely up to ICE. The disturbingly arbitrary nature of the civilian immigration detention system allows immigrants to be detained indefinitely without ever having a judge assess whether bond or electronic monitoring was an appropriate alternative to detention, she added.
‘The prison I am housed in is famous for its problem of understaffing. To help alleviate this problem, in the last few weeks alone, 61 immigrants were removed from this facility without notice and transferred to a facility in Mississippi where ICE can detain them at a lower cost.
Now the detainees are far from their local support systems of friends or loved ones, and those who were lucky enough to have lawyers have been deprived of the ability to communicate with them easily and personally. Hearings held remotely are not appropriate for defendants to consult with their lawyers during the proceedings.’