Alleged socialite grifter stiffed 3 BigLaw firms, prosecutors say
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Evidence of an accused socialite grifter’s alleged predilection to stiff BigLaw firms won’t be admitted during her New York trial, which got underway with jury selection last week.
Prosecutors say Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, owes $160,000 in fees to Perkins Coie, $65,000 to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and $30,000 to Lowenstein Sandler, the American Lawyer reports.
Sorokin’s attorney Todd Spodek persuaded a judge last Wednesday that testimony about the unpaid fees was too prejudicial to admit at trial.
Sorokin is accused of posing as a German heiress to scam banks, businesses, hotels and friends out of $275,000. The charges against her include grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services, according to the American Lawyer.
Prosecutors say Sorokin induced Gibson Dunn to continue working for her with a story about a wire transfer that would take several days to arrive in New York. She had hired the firm to help her obtain a loan for an arts center project, according to the Cut. The Perkins Coie bill was tied to an attempt to rent a space for the arts club, the New York Post reports.
