New York to block fake German heiress’ Netflix deal: reports
Judge sentences fake German heiress Anna Sorokin to four to 12 years behind bars
Prosecutors say Sorokin conned her way into living a jet-setting lifestyle in New York, asking friends to front big bills but never repaid them; Laura Ingle reports.
A faux German heiress, sentenced in May to four to 12 years behind bars for swindling people out of $200,000 through a series of scams, won’t be allowed to make money off her sensational story, according to reports.
Prosecutors have asked a New York judge to prevent Anna Sorokin from cashing in on a Netflix production expected to highlight the extravagant ruse that landed the woman who posed as a German heiress in state prison.
The New York Attorney General’s Office recently challenged the contract Sorokin signed last year for the rights to her now-infamous life story, invoking a state law that bans criminals from profiting off their own notoriety.
Prosecutors have asked a New York judge to prevent the con artist Anna Sorokin from cashing in on a Netflix production expected to highlight the extravagant ruse that landed the woman who posed as a German heiress in state prison. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
New York’s so-called Son of Sam law derives its name from the nickname given to David Berkowitz, who fatally shot six people and wounded seven others in New York City in the 1970s. After his capture, New York was the first state to enact a law blocking criminals from profiting off their crimes.
State prosecutors wrote in court filings that the $70,000 and royalties Sorokin is owed from her Netflix deal should be awarded as restitution to the Manhattan banks and hotels she defrauded.
The court filings, first reported by the New York Post, show Sorokin received an initial $30,000 from Netflix that went to her defense attorney, Todd Spodek.
Spodek didn’t immediately return messages from Fox News seeking comment.
Sorokin passed herself off as a wealthy heiress known as Anna Delvey, convincing banks and celebrities that she had a fortune of $67 million overseas that could cover her jet-setting lifestyle.
She was convicted of grand larceny and theft of services, and she faces deportation to Germany following her release from prison.
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Prosecutors said Sorokin “had not a cent to her name when she was taken into custody.”
But a judge ordered her to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution following her conviction, including a $100,000 loan she didn't repay to City National Bank.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.