Why does Anna Delvey wear an ankle monitor? Crimes and Netflix series explained

She doesn’t have time for this (or for you), but Anna Delvey does have time to compete on Dancing with the Stars. But why was she arrested, and why does she wear an ankle monitor?

For many Netflix users, the first time they heard the name Anna Delvey was when a new binge-worthy TV show landed on the streaming service.

Though it was never renewed, the show followed a woman infiltrating the super-rich in NYC to scam them out of millions… and it was all a true story.

Delvey herself is real, and after years of house arrest, she’s heading to compete on national TV. But what is Anna Delvey’s story, why was she arrested, and how is she doing this with an ankle monitor?

Anna Delvey arrest timeline

In 2019, Anna Delvey – also known as Anna Sorokin – was convicted on multiple accounts for defrauding banks, hotels, and people close to her. She posed as a German heiress to do so.

Back in 2013, Delvey switched out her real surname (Sorokin) and was living in Paris pursuing a fashion degree – allegedly completely funded by her parents. That same year, she swapped the French capital for New York City, where she assumed the identity of a fake German heiress.

While it was reported there were plenty of holes in her story (more on that later), people fell for what she was telling them. As a result, Delvey was regularly seen at high-end restaurants, parties, and other networking events. She allegedly left others footing a hefty bill promising to pay them back… which never happened.

By 2014-2015, Delvey was a known name on the scene. She had an ambiguous background, was always seen in the most expensive clothes at the most high-profile events, and frequently “forgot” to pay her friends back.

In 2016, she was living between a series of boutique hotels in the city. She amassed a $30,000 bill between them when her credit card declined. The hotels eventually received the first of many “mysterious” wire transfers a few days later, which ended up being how Delvey moved money around.

At the same time, she also left friends with a $70,000 bill for a Morrocan vacation. It was this friend who eventually turned her in.

Fast forward to 2017 and her Anna Delvey Foundation had secured millions worth of investment loans. To pull this off, it was alleged she defrauded a series of accountants, wealth managers, and financial advisors, going so far as to forge documents to secure bank loans.

In October 2017, Delvey was charged with theft of $300,000 and attempted theft of $22 million, resulting in a total of 10 counts of theft, larceny, attempted theft, and attempted larceny.

In 2018, she rejected a plea deal after being held without bail since her arrest. Her trial began in March 2019, when Delvey was still convinced of her own German heiress story. She refused to show up if she was made to wear prison-given attire, with the trial becoming renowned for what she was wearing.

On April 25, Delvey was found guilty of eight charges including grand larceny in the second degree, attempted grand larceny, and theft of services. She was found not guilty of attempted grand larceny in the first degree and larceny in the second degree.

Her sentence was 4-12 years and she was also ordered to pay a restitution fee.

In February 2021, Delvey was released from prison on good behavior. A month later, she was taken back into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying her visa. Because of this, she was released on bail in 2022 and placed on her infamous house arrest, wearing her ankle monitor ever since.

Just because Delvey has been on house arrest doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. She’s done numerous interviews defending her actions, claiming she “never thought she was cheating” during the last decade.

She’s also hosted fashion shows at her own home during New York Fashion Week. As of September 5, this has been kicked up a notch after being announced as a contestant on the next series of reality TV competition show Dancing with the Stars.

Her story was turned into a Netflix series

If you’re a Netflix user, lots of that might not have been news to you. In 2022, Inventing Anna was released on the platform after they paid Delvey $320,000 for the rights.

Netflix

Julia Garner took on the role of Delvey, with nine episodes of the miniseries taking viewers through an imagined look at what happened before the trial. We see Delvey rise up through the societal ranks while never revealing her true background.

Scenes depict Delvey staying at people’s luxury houses and using their credit cards, talking herself into staying on someone’s private yacht five days after the owners had gone home, and hoodwinking hotel staff into letting her stay at boutique hotels for longer. We also see how she can get funding for the AFD.

Two years on, the series has a 64% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to a 37% audience score.

At the time, Garner revealed to Elle that she had met Delvey while she was still in prison. “It was really surreal. She’s very funny, when you meet her in real life, and so I knew there had to be that comedic aspect to the show. Very funny, very likable, and she wanted to talk, as much as she was able to,” she explained.

“But I also still don’t think that she thinks she did anything wrong. I think she just wanted power, prestige, and success, and she was still thinking like that. It seemed like her perspective was still that she didn’t do anything wrong, that she was just doing everything it took to get to where she should be.”

She’s wearing her ankle monitor on Dancing with the Stars

Delvey will appear in the cast of Dancing with the Stars for Fall 2024, sporting her ankle monitor in promotional pictures released in early September.

Given what we’ve said about Delvey being on house arrest, you might think this is strange. But according to Delvey, her house arrest boundaries have been loosened, meaning she can go anywhere in New York as long as the monitor stays on.

She also had to ask special permission from ICE to compete on the show, which tapes in Los Angeles. Speaking to EW, she said the decision to compete was “very last minute,” answering “why not?” to questions about her competing in the first place.

“They offered it to me, then I had to get permission from ICE to be able to travel out of state and that took about 10 days,” she explained. “I didn’t really know until very last minute if I was going to able to do it or not, and then it was kind of too late to say no, so, I’m just here.”

Delvey also joked that she will bejewel her monitor with the help of professional partner Ezra Sosa to match the sparkly outfits she’ll be wearing on the dancefloor.

As for what winning would mean to her? “Nothing.”

Dancing with the Stars returns to ABC on September 14, while Inventing Anna is available to stream on Netflix. You can also check out the best true crime and documentaries, new TV shows streaming, and the best TV shows of the year so far.