Notorious Fake Heiress, Anna Delvey, Joins DWTS Wearing Ankle Bracelet

Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) has had its share of controversial participants. In its upcoming season, the TV series will feature one of the most notorious con artists in recent years—Anna Delvey, legally known as Anna Sorokin.

The fraudster posed as a wealthy heiress, defrauding investors, personal acquaintances, and realtors of around $275,000 to supposedly build the Anna Delvey Foundation, an exclusive organization for the arts. Delvey used her ill-gotten wealth to sustain an opulent lifestyle. She stayed in expensive hotels, ate at high-end restaurants, and went on lavish vacations.

The blonde “heiress” was finally arrested in 2017. She was convicted of larceny, spent nearly four years in jail, and was released in 2019 for good behavior. Though she is still under house arrest, Delvey has been granted permission to travel within 70 miles of her home and New York City’s five boroughs. She had to make a special request to participate in DWTS which takes place in Los Angeles.

“Well, [DWTS] approached my team and I had to request ICE for permission to travel out of state because it’s being filmed in Los Angeles and I’m based in New York,” she told PEOPLE. 

“It took them about 10 days to get it through the system and to get everything approved,” she continued. “By the time I got the approval, it was very close to the starting day so I kind of flew to LA pretty much the next day and I just decided why not?” Delvey narrated.

In true Anna Delvey fashion, the 33-year-old showed off her designer outfits and ankle bracelet in the program’s promotional photos. In a widely distributed photograph, Delvey wore a glittering black-gold mini dress that highlighted her long tanned legs. Her hair was perfectly coiffed and she seemed without a care in the world.

Who Is Anna Delvey’s Dance Partner?

Ready to sashay alongside Delvey is professional dancer Ezra Sosa who lightheartedly referred to the German national as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista.”

Sosa credited his new dance partner with having some “danceability.” 

“I’m obsessed with her,” he commented, adding that he’s excited to let the world see “how she is.”

“The media has seen a representation of her that I personally think is not her,” he elaborated. 

Other season 33 celebrities include Tori Spelling, Dwight Howard, Eric Roberts, Brooks Nader, and gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik.

You can check out Delvey’s moves and her ankle bracelet during the September 17 season premiere on ABC.