Anna Delvey (real name: Sorokin) has begun her defense in court, and oh my God. The self-proclaimed German heiress, who was indicted for allegedly scamming people, businesses, and executives out of $275,000 in a 10-month period, could face 15 years in jail if found guilty of her grand larceny charges. The pressure is on, so how, pray tell, are Delvey and her lawyer Todd Spodek planning to convince a jury of her innocence?
Turns out, they're basically just watching a bunch of TED Talks and hoping for the best. Spodek characterized Delvey's behavior, which included skipping out on airfare and hotel fees while sticking unsuspecting friends with significant bills, as faking it "until she could make it," according to Time.
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In his opening statement, Spodek argued the system is "easily seduced by glamour and glitz" so Delvey pretended to be wealthy to get ahead. Per Spodek, she was planning to repay all the money she owed once she was successful.
Spodek also claimed that Delvey was subject to inappropriate behavior from the business executives she was attempting to work with, saying one texted her that he was "forcing [himself] not to kiss" her and asked her to come to his hotel room.
Delvey's story has already been handed to Shonda Rhimes, who will be bringing the scam to Netflix as part of her estimated $100 million deal with the streaming service. Specifically, Rhimes and Netflix acquired the rights to Jessica Pressler’s New York magazine article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People," which was the second article after Vanity Fair's to detail Delvey's actions.
The story of Delvey's New York City scammery kicked off significant public fascination with grifters and conwomen. Most recently, all eyes have been on actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who were two of many charged with bribing their children's ways into college — now that movie is TBD.