How One Girls Desire to Be Rich and Famous Ended with a 15-Year Jail Sentence

The New York City socialite scene is a desired one to be in. When Anna Delvey came to the states, she was an instant hit as her seemingly careless spending and extravagant parties caught the eye of many successful and powerful people. She began her time at a new hotel in SoHo and worked her way up before a messy crash and burn. It’s hard to believe that this innocent looking face caused so much damage and destruction to many lives…

At The Start

Anna Delvey started her time in New York City living in 11 Howard Street. It was in an upper-class SoHo area that was crawling with socialites, actors, models, and other high-end clients. Delvey chose this area in order to blend in and network with the rich and famous. She came to the states literally dripping in money. All she had to do was show everyone what she was made of…

Her First Friend

As she was slowly making her way around the city, she was able to mimic the behaviors of who she was trying to befriend. She made a point to tip hotel staff and waiters $100 bills in cash on the regular. This ended up impressing those around her. Not long after, she became friends with the concierge at 11 Howard. Neffatari Davis is an aspiring cinematographer who would become Delvey’s ticket into the scene. Davis knew something was up with Delvey when she began to ask where the ‘hotspots’ in the city are, even though she already knew. Little did Davis know that this was the first of many manipulation traps that she would soon fall into…

Going Out

The two struck up an easy friendship despite Davis’ apprehension. They began going to clubs, bars, and restaurants and Delvey began meeting newer and more famous people. Delvey was charming and easy to like, and she also treated all bar or club staff the same and tipped them big bucks. It was always with cash, which seemed like a red flag, but this girl seemed harmless enough…

The Personal Trainer

The longer Delvey seemed to live in the city, the more money she was getting, although Davis had no idea how she was getting it. The new riches had Delvey going out and making more and more friends who were rich and in the upper-elite. She even went to higher a personal trainer for $4,500. No one was questioning her money at that point and it just seemed normal. Everything was going well until she messed it all up…

Living Large

After a few months, she began to host her own parties and dinners to make even more connections. She wasn’t afraid of her obvious social climbing, and others didn’t really seem to care. Davis started noticing a pattern that was concerning.

Very Charming

Delvey was instantly likable. She was charming, easy to get along with, and gorgeous. She was even unfazed by peoples social status and treated them “like everyone else,” which is something that tends to be hard to come by when meeting new people. She was absolutely becoming a social climber, and everyone complimented her on the same characteristics. Plus, she was extremely rich and threw money at everyone. No one would question a crisp $100 bill.

Making Moves Around the Globe

As soon as she became a regular at all of the hottest spots in the city, she then focused her efforts on spots around the globe. She began taking expensive trips all across the world all paid for in cold hard cash. Her next goal was to social climb all over the globe, and that was starting to become obvious. She had no clue that her downfall was right on her tail…

Michael Xufu Huang

Delvey soon made a new friend in a very high place, a museum founder and art collector. His name is Michael Xufu Huang. The two met at an art show and were attracted to each others charm. After becoming close, Huang began to bring Delvey along with him around the world. One of these trips would end up harshly exposing Delvey’s true plans and the messy path she left…

Suspicious Behavior

This trip overseas was the beginning of the very, very messy end. Delvey had told Huang that he should put all of the expenses on his credit card and she will pay him later in cash. He said sure, although a red flag did go up. She was his friend, but this was too weird. She couldn’t book hotel rooms in cash and didn’t use a credit card. She promised to pay him back later, but Huang learned to regret this.

Dodging Payments

Huang took care of all of the flights and rooms during their trip. They made it back to New York, and Delvey ghosted him. She never offered to pay him back and slyly dodged him. After he was finally able to confront her about it, she apologized and said that she forgot. Once she got the cash, she’d give it to him. He never saw the cash…

Getting Sloppy

Things started to spiral even more once Delvey felt too powerful. She was spending a lot more money and asking for way more favors. People were beginning to catch on… Except for Delvey.  She even went to hire a fancy and expensive PR firm to help her throw one of the biggest parties in one of the nicest clubs. She didn’t realize this huge mistake.

Time To Pay

The party came and went, but the payment was never received. Delvey was supposed to pay the PR firm, but she was literally missing. They could not find her in the city at all. Huang was currently the one closest to Delvey and was being contacted about her whereabouts. In truth, he had no idea where she was. She was completely unreachable and untraceable. Things were coming together for him and the rest of their friend group. Who was this person they were hanging around with?

Where Is She?

Huang started asking around. Where was she? Have you heard from her? No one had any answers. Some even thought she moved back to her hometown to avoid all of these costs. But where even was that? Some had theories that she was a daughter of a Russian diplomat, or maybe that she came from a family rich in oil money. Soon, things would come to light and everyone would be shocked.

The ADF

While being off the map, she was working hard to establish an art club called the Anna Delvey Foundation. She kept it extremely under wraps and worked with a British art director (someone outside of the NYC circles who doesn’t know about her controversial disappearance!) to help make it come to life. Marc Kremers worked with her on the new venture while being unaware of who she really was. Was this another scheme for profits?

Needs More Money

Delvey needed to figure out how to get her hands on more money to put into this foundation. Eventually, she found a financial partner who remained anonymous to the public. She told all of her partners that she had enough money, it was just outside of the US. They believed her…

A Huge Twist

Delvey was still struggling for some money. She continued to throw more parties for people outside of her social circle in another part of the city. That’s when she met the biggest scam artist around — Martin Shkreli. He was later convicted of securities fraud in the pharmacy industry and made a lot of sick Americans lives very hard. He shared some tips with her.

In Over Her Head

Delvey continued running into problems as her latest plan was trying to get together. Before, she worked with bars, clubs, and hotels as she scammed her way around. Now, she has more experienced people like lawyers and investors to try and work around. It wasn’t working…

People Are Catching On

As she struggled with ADF, more issues in money began to pop up. All of her past was catching up to her, and it was very obvious that she was in a heavy debt. All of the money she said that she had didn’t even exist. She tried to pay for an expensive dinner on over a dozen different cards, they all failed. The 11 Howard Hotel began to question her. They needed money from her because the credit card she left with them was not valid…

Debt

The hotel management asked Davis, who was still friends with Delvey at the time. They told Davis that her friend owed them nearly $30,000. Davis was shocked and appalled. The girl that she knew wouldn’t do that, but then again, who was she even? Was there another life of debt and deceit she was living? Davis didn’t know. She was determined to get to the bottom of her “friend.”

More Lies

Davis finally found Delvey and confronted her. Delvey claimed that she didn’t know what was going on, but it had to have been a misunderstanding. Davis didn’t believe her, but let her handle it. Delvey claimed a wire transfer was coming, it was going to happen, but things were looking dim. Davis was truly questioning her best friend now…

The Wire Transfer

Davis continued questioning her friend, and things started getting tricky. Delvey was almost caught in her web of lies when the near impossible happened: the wire transfer went through. Delvey was now free of the $30,000 debt of the hotel. All seemed well, but Davis still had her doubts. Delvey, on the other hand, thought everything was back to normal and went on with her risky lifestyle… But, that wouldn’t last long.

The Same Mistakes

Delvey continued on. She paid the debt off and continued going out and having parties. She was still living the life of a wealthy socialite and living at the hotel. After a while, the hotel said that they needed a working card on her room. She refused. They kicked her out. Then, master scammer Martin Shkreli came back into the picture…

Tricks of the Trade

Delvey remembered a manipulation process that the master scammer had told her one night. She ended up purchasing the web domains in all of the hotel managers names. If they wanted them, they’d have to pay her an insane amount of money to get them back. This was the most deceptive thing that she has done that people knew about. This begged the question: What else has she done? Has she wronged me? What’s going on? People began to talk. She fled to Morocco.

Morocco

Her personal trainer and videographer friend joined her on the trip. They didn’t think anything of her actions, but they would soon learn. The trainer went back to New York because she got sick. This would be normal, but it was bad for Delvey. Now, she’s without a significant source of income and may be getting in trouble in Morocco because of it…

Getting Sloppier

Her antics were beginning to catch up to her in Morocco, despite the fact that she was only there to stay away from her antics of New York. She called her trainer and begged for money. The Moroccan police were on her tail and they were threatening to arrest her because of her unpaid bills. The trainer, albeit reluctantly, agreed to help. Delvey was relieved to be getting more “help,” but then things got sour. None of the cards were going through because of a technical issue on the hotel’s end. Once it was fixed, her trainer was not responding to her calls. Delvey was back where she started… In deep trouble.

Saved At The Last Minute

Her trainer decided to bring her back to New York. Delvey was relieved. She begged for first class, and the trainer relented. She was then finally moving out of 11 Howard and into another hotel blocks away. After only 20 days, the hotel realized her credit card was phony, locked her out of the room and confiscated her belongings. She was homeless.

Scammed a Friend

Meanwhile, the videographer friend was left in Morocco and had to foot the expensive bill all on her own. They forced her to pay $62,000 (more than she makes in a year) in order to not get arrested and to be able to leave. Delvey said she would pay her back. All she got back was a measly $5,000.

Homeless

After being kicked out and wandering the streets, she found herself at her trainers home, begging to be let inside. “I don’t want to be alone,” she told her. “I might do something.” The trainer let her in, gave her water, and let her sleep. That’s when she knew something was up, and that this would be the last time she bailed out this wannabe socialite.

After spending the night, Delvey left. That is when the trainer learned of the poor situation with the videographer. She was furious and immediately decided to cut all ties with Delvey. She had told her doorman to not let Delvey in. When Delvey came back later that day, he said the trainer was out for the day. He then let the trainer know that she’s lingering in the lobby, “Waiting for you to come back.” She finally left around midnight.

Becoming Notorious

She was making a name for herself. In any business or industry, people talk. She couldn’t find another hotel to take her in because they already knew her. All of her bridges were burned. Her friends didn’t want anything to do with her because word spread. She was completely alone as all of her scamming and lying were finally coming to light. She even hired a lawyer (with the promise of payment, knowing she wouldn’t pay him) and then even asked if she could stay with him. She was that desperate. Naturally, he said no.

An Intervention

Delvey talked to the trainer once more. The trainer agreed to meet with her at a restaurant to talk about Delvey’s next steps. Little did Delvey know was that the trainer was actually tricking her into an intervention. They immediately called her out, asking her for her true intentions and identity. Delvey pushed out big crocodile tears and promised to pay everyone back once her foundation got up and running. They then broke it to her that that wasn’t happening, someone else bought the building, and that it was over for her.

Getting Caught

This intervention was like talking to a brick wall. She refused to believe that someone else bought the building ADF was supposed to have because she “paid” for it (she didn’t) and even called it fake news. Her friends, colleagues, and other people she scammed turned her in and contacted the New York District Attorney’s Office. It was over.

She Gets Arrested…

The trainer put her up in a hotel room for two nights but restricted her room service and made them get rid of the bar. She was then arrested. Somehow, with her scamming magic, she was able to hire a lawyer, make bail, and run off to Malibu where she was later caught again and brought back to New York. She was charged with grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services.

No Dice

Delvey tried to reach a plea deal, the judge rejected it. She offered Delvey a 3 to 9 sentence, which Delvey rejected and decided to go to court. Justice Diane Kiesel ran the trial and reported seeing no guilt or remorse in Delvey’s face.

Loving the Attention

She now resides in Rikers Island jail waiting for her trial. The maximum punishment is up to 15 years in prison, which is very likely as her crimes are some of the worst in history. Her story made it to press and people were shocked at her actions and behaviors. People were so interested in her story… How did she live this fake life, and how did it take years for her to actually get caught? People are so intrigued that Netflix is even making a series based on Delvey.

The Truth

She loved the attention, apparently, and loved that she was the story. Now that she was caught, she was ready for the attention of the news publications where she spilled everything. She started telling her actual life story, all starting when she was born in Russia in 1991. She was born in a working-class German family who had no idea of her life in the states. They were shocked at the horrifying lengths she went to get money…

Rikers Island

Delvey continues to make friends and use her charm in jail. “This place is not that bad at all actually. People seem to think it’s horrible, but I see it as like, this sociological experiment.” She’s in jail with anyone from con artists like herself to multiple-count murderers. She even met an identity thief, who she finds fascinating and even admitted to taking pointers from.

To make a long story short, she ended up conning people, businesses, and banks out of a total of $275,000. She used fake documents, fake names, and even a fake financial advisor to get these loans and convince people to give her the money. She moved the money around and floated bad checks. She was constantly asking for money from people using her charm and manipulated them into giving it to her. She was able to move the money around and wire it to other banks, which is how she kept the loan money flowing and not getting it restricted.