Woman claiming to be German heiress enjoyed extravagant lifestyle while conning friends out of hundreds of thousands, court hears

‘She’s born in Russia and has not a cent to her name as far as we can determine’

Anna Sorokin appears in New York State Supreme Court on grand larceny charges (AP)

The daughter of a former lorry driver who allegedly pretended to be a German heiress to con friends, banks and hotels out of hundreds of thousands of pounds is set to stand trial.

Anna Sorokin is accused of living the high life in New York City, staying in luxury hotels and jetting off to Omaha and Marrakech while pretending to be a billionaire’s daughter named Anna Delvey.

The 28-year-old integrated herself into the Big Apple’s social scene in 2016, rubbing shoulders with celebrities as she wore an expensive wardrobe and doled out $100 (£75) tips.

The German national, whose family moved there in 2007 from Russia, managed to convince people to put taxi rides and plane fares on their credit cards by telling them she was having trouble moving her assets from Europe, prosecutors said.

She allegedly covered her tracks by telling people various stories about her wealth, such as that her father was a diplomat, an oil baron and a solar panel entrepreneur.

The reality was much more mundane.

After New York Magazine tracked him down to Eschweiler, a small town around 40 miles west of Cologne, her father told the publication he was a former trucker who now runs a heating and cooling business.

Ms Sorokin’s ”overall scheme has been to claim to be a wealthy German heiress with approximately $60m in funds being held abroad,” prosecutor Catherine McCaw said after her arrest in October 2017.

“She’s born in Russia and has not a cent to her name as far as we can determine.”

Ms Sorokin is accused of swindling $275,000 (£208,000) over a 10-month period and was scheduled to stand trial on grand larceny (theft) and theft of services charges.

Prosecutors allege Ms Sorokin promised a friend an all-expenses-paid trip to Morocco but left her to foot the £47,000 bill.

The Russian is also accused of peddling bogus bank statements in a bid to get a $22m (£16m) loan after drumming up plans to build a private arts club with exhibitions, installations and pop-up shops.

Prosecutors said she succeeded in getting one bank to lend her £76,000 to cover due diligence costs in the start-up of her business – but she allegedly ended up keeping £41,000 and “frittered away these funds on personal expenses in about a month”.

A few months later, in May 2017, Ms Sorokin allegedly chartered a plane to and from a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, but never paid the $35,400 (£27,000) bill.

Prosecutors said Ms Sorokin pleaded with a police officer that a bailout was on the way after she failed to pay a big bill at a Manhattan hotel in July 2017.

According to court documents, she said: “I have no money and no credit cards. I’m waiting for my aunt from Germany. She’s going to pay. I’m not trying to run. Why are you making a big deal about this? Give me five minutes and I can get a friend to pay.”

AP contributed to this report