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‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin will compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted of swindling banks, hotels and friends in 2019 after falsely building a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has found her newest venture: “Dancing With the Stars.
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FILE - Anna Delvey, also known as Anna Sorokin, poses at her apartment in New York, May 26, 2023, to promote her podcast, "The Anna Delvey Show." (AP Photo/John Carucci, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted of in 2019 after falsely building a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has found her newest venture: “Dancing With the Stars.”

Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in a press release, it was announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America” that Sorokin will compete with the likes of former NBA star actor and whose season ended in heartbreak just Tuesday night. Tran, the first Asian American “Bachelorette,” was a contestant on of “The Bachelor” — and he, too, will be vying for the trophy.

Complicating Sorokin's latest starring role is the ankle bracelet she’s worn since October 2022, when she started her . Although she was released from prison in February 2021, picked her up shortly after she got out, claiming she overstayed her visa and must be returned to her native Germany. The was in ICE custody for over a year before a judge cleared the way for her to switch to home confinement in October 2022 while she fights the deportation case.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not returned requests for comment regarding changes to Sorokin’s house arrest conditions to accommodate filming in the Los Angeles area. Sorokin’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed Tuesday that she could travel within 70 miles (112 kilometers) of her home base and anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City under previous house arrest conditions, but could not comment on any changes to those rules.

While under house arrest, she had to abide by the immigration judge’s condition that she does not use social media, but Sorokin kept busy. She —“The Anna Delvey Show”— that featured guests like comedian Whitney Cummings and technology journalist Taylor Lorenz who traveled to her apartment in New York’s East Village to record.

“So many people became famous for bad things and were able to kind of segue it into something different,” she said in a June 2023 interview with The Associated Press.

“Dancing With the Stars” is the first mainstream way Sorokin is attempting to accomplish that goal. She’ll be competing in the upcoming 33rd season, which premieres Sept. 17 on ABC and Disney+.

Sorokin will be joining Team USA’s breakout star from the Olympics: — better known to the internet as “Pommel Horse Guy.” The 25-year-old who won was in August fresh off his Olympics' high. He became an thanks to memes of his preparation and of his Superman-like transformation before hitting the floor.

Another U.S. Olympian will be competing: the rugby player and bronze medalist who became a social media darling for her

The series also announced Tuesday that Ezra Sosa, a previous member of the show’s troupe of dancers, will be promoted to a “pro” this season; he is partnered with Sorokin. Artem Chigvintsev, who was on a domestic violence charge, will not be return as a pro.

The full list of celebrities competing on the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars”:

    1. former Super Bowl champion

    2. who is being billed as “Anna Delvey,” per the show's release

    3. from “The Bachelor”

    4. former NBA champion

    5. star of “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”

    6. rugby player and Olympian

    7. model

    8. gymnast and Olympian

    9. Phaedra Parks, and star

    10. Eric Roberts, prolific movie actor, and

    11. of “Beverly Hills 90210”

    12. from “The Bachelorette”

    13. of “Family Matters" and “Die Hard”

Kaitlyn Huamani, The Associated Press

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