Netflix’s Inventing Anna Tells The Story Of The Soho Scammer—Anna Delvey

Suspended somewhere between reality and fiction lies one of Netflix’s most captivating shows, Inventing Anna. 

The nine-episode series created by Shonda Rhimes, best known for her work on Grey’s Anatomy, immediately rose to the number one on the Netflix charts following its debut on Feb. 11.

The show was inspired by the real-life accounts of Anna Sorokin, a Russian-born con artist who swindled huge amounts of money from some of New York’s elite before being arrested and convicted of fraud and grand larceny.

Actress Julia Garner plays Sorokin. She does a stellar job of portraying the German heiress who goes by the alias Anna Delvey.

Sorokin’s goal is to establish an exclusive art club under the name Anna Delvey Foundation (ADF). Having no real funds to bring her vision to reality, she manages to gain the trust of Alan Reed, played by Anthony Edwards, a financial lawyer who helps her secure large loans. 

Seeking to make a profit, he blindly vouches that Anna has personal resources to pay back loans without confirming those resources exist. She manages to string him along by falsifying herself as Peter Hennecke, a fake family manager who calls Reed to verbally verify that Anna has a trust fund.

Viewers discover that she accomplishes that with the help of a burner phone with a European SIM card and voice modifying app.

Along the way, Anna also cons people she befriends: Kacy, Neff and Rachel played by Laverne Cox, Alexis Floyd and Katie Lowes. 

Eventually, Rachel, who turns out to be an opportunist more than a victim, helps authorities capture Anna in a sting operation, which leads to her arrest and trial. 

During the trial, Anna shows her vanity by refusing to wear simple clothing and puts on a daily fashion show expecting lots of media attention. She also refuses to have her lawyer, Todd Spodek, played by Adrian Moayed portray her as someone not capable of achieving her con plan.

She is eventually sentenced to four-12 years in prison. The real-life Anna Sorokin served four years and is currently in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The series’ unique disclaimer in the opening of each episode states, “this whole story is completely true. Except for all the parts that are totally made up,” which leaves many events questionable to the viewer.

Overall, the series was enjoyable to watch and does a great job of showcasing the spiraling downfall of someone who presents herself to be something they aren’t.