NY Jury Convicts Grifter Who Duped Gibson Dunn, Perkins Coie and Lowenstein
While Anna Delvey was never charged for allegedly stiffing the firms for over $250K in fees, she was found guilty of stealing more than $200,000 from other victims and aiming to cheat others out of millions more.
April 26, 2019 at 12:09 PM
4 minute read
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Anna Sorokin, the fraudulent socialite who snookered banks, credit card providers and travel companies—and whose deceit also allegedly touched some top law firms—was convicted Thursday in Manhattan of stealing more than $200,000 and aiming to steal millions more.
A New York State Supreme Court jury found Sorokin guilty of eight of the 10 charges she faced. None them included her alleged failure to pay over $250,000 in fees to Perkins Coie, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Lowenstein Sandler—referenced in court filings as “uncharged bad acts”— and Sorokin was acquitted on one attempted first degree grand larceny charge that directly invoked her Gibson Dunn attorney's unwitting help as she lied in a failed effort to secure a $22 million bank loan.
Sorokin, posing as a German heiress, sought the money to rent a 45,000-square-foot building and open a private club on Park Avenue South. Government filings show that, after striking out on lease negotiations guided by attorneys from Perkins Coie and Lowenstein Sandler, thanks to her failure to prove she had the funds she claimed, she engaged Lance to help her land a loan.
The filings indicate that Lance brokered an introduction to a banker at City National Bank. While Sorokin allegedly provided fraudulent bank statements from Deutsche Bank in Germany and UBS in Switzerland in order to land a loan, the jury ultimately acquitted her on that count.
A real estate financier who had been introduced by Lance to Sorokin then pointed her to a banker at Fortress Investment Group, according to a trial transcript. She then overdrafted an unfunded account at City National, with the promise that a wire was on the way from Germany to make a good faith deposit to cover Fortress' costs in considering the loan before again providing fraudulent information during the due diligence process and finally withdrawing herself from consideration. The jury agreed to convict Sorokin on that count.
Gibson Dunn and Lance ultimately dropped Sorokin as a client after her failure to pay both a $30,000 retainer and tens of thousands in fees, according to a government filing.
Sorokin was also convicted of two counts of second degree grand larceny, one count of third degree grand larceny, and four counts of theft of services. She was acquitted on one other second degree grand larceny count.
“As proven at trial, Anna Sorokin committed real white-collar felonies over the course of her lengthy masquerade,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus 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.”
Sorokin is due to be sentenced on May 9. In an email, her attorney Todd Spodek focused on the two acquittals.
“Our defense always focused on Ms. Sorokin's intent, and that her actions never passed the line to 'dangerously close' required by law for an attempt conviction,” he said. “I am pleased the jury focused on these issues and acquitted her of those charges. I believe this, along with other mitigating factors, will play an instrumental role in Ms. Sorokin's sentencing.”
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How Did Gibson Dunn, Perkins Coie and Lowenstein Fall for Anna Delvey?
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