Con artist Anna Delvey joins line-up Dancing With The Stars

Scammer Anna Delvey, whose real-life tale was the basis for the Netflix show Inventing Anna, has joined the lineup for the competition show Dancing With The Stars in the United States.

Over the past couple of years, Delvey, also known as Anna Sorokin, has gained a notorious reputation for her fraudulent actions, masquerading as a wealthy socialite in New York.

This year's Dancing With The Stars lineup features two Team USA Olympians, rugby player Ilona Maher and gymnastics bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik, as well as actress Tori Spelling from Beverly Hills, 90210.

In addition, Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts and reality TV star Phaedra Parks from Real Housewives of Atlanta will also be present on the dance floor.

Sorokin will be partnering with professional dancer Ezra Sosa on the show, and she will wear an ankle bracelet during her time on the competition. The ankle bracelet has been on Sorokin since 2022, when she was placed on house arrest, according to AP. She has been challenging a deportation ruling.

According to her representative Juda Engelmayer, she was allowed to travel within a 70-mile radius of her residence and anywhere in New York City while under previous house arrest restrictions. However, he was unable to provide information on any potential alterations to these regulations.

Talking to Entertainment Tonight, Delvey mentioned at the show's premiere that she had to receive approval in order to leave the state for filming. She also stated that she planned to decorate her ankle monitor with jewels.

When asked if she was feeling anxious before the show, she replied: "I'm not worried. The worst thing that could happen is that I dance poorly, and they can't arrest me for that."

In 2019, the con artist was convicted of stealing services and committing grand theft, after deceiving banks and upscale hotels to the tune of over $200,000 (£145,000).

She liked to let everyone know that she had a trust fund worth $60 million and was working on creating her own arts foundation with her name on it.

However, she was actually a new intern at a magazine, and her family was just regular Russian immigrants residing in Germany.

She was able to deceive others into thinking her luxurious lifestyle was real by staying in high-priced hotels and sharing glamorous photos on Instagram. As a result, she was able to get others to cover her expenses.

Her tale gained worldwide fame in 2018 following a feature in New York Magazine by journalist Jessica Pressler.

Shonda Rhimes, the mastermind behind popular shows like Grey's Anatomy, Bridgerton, and Scandal, took Sorokin's story and brought it to life in a Netflix series, with Julia Garner portraying the protagonist.

Sorokin received $320,000 from Netflix for Inventing Anna, but she couldn't keep all of it because of a law in New York that stops criminals from making money off their crimes.

"I didn't approach Netflix to purchase my story, it simply fell into place," Sorokin shared with the BBC in 2021 after being released from prison. "And everything else just became too much for me to handle."

The BBC audio show Fake Heiress is available to listen to on BBC Sounds.