In 2011, she left Germany to live in London and Paris before relocating to New York City in 2013, where she interned for the French fashion magazine Purple.

Sorokin conceived of a private members' club and arts foundation, which included leasing a large building to feature pop-up shops and exhibitions by notable artists she met while interning.

She later created fake financial documents to substantiate her claims of having a multi-million-euro trust fund, and forged multiple wire transfer confirmations.

Sorokin used these documents, as well as fraudulent checks, to trick banks, acquaintances, and realtors into paying out cash and granting large loans without collateral.

Her proposal included leasing the entire Church Missions House, comprising six floors and 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) and owned by Aby Rosen's RFR Holdings, as a multipurpose events venue and art studio, where she planned a visual arts center with pop-up shops curated by artist Daniel Arsham, one of her acquaintances from her internship, and exhibitions by Urs Fischer, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and Tracey Emin.

Dee also described the other attendees at a party she attended that Sorokin organized at The Standard, High Line: "She barely knew them—as if it was maybe the second time they'd ever met, kind of like us.

[11] In February 2016, while Sorokin was living in a hotel room in The Standard, High Line, she met Rachel DeLoache Williams, then a photo editor at Vanity Fair, at a nightclub.

[2] City National refused to extend credit when Sorokin failed to provide the source of the Swiss assets, and she then applied for a loan from Fortress.

She provided fake AOL email addresses for "Peter Hennecke", a nonexistent business manager; when suspicions arose, Sorokin claimed that he had died, and invented a new persona, "Bettina Wagner".

[5] She often gave a $100 cash gratuity to the concierge, whom she befriended, and other employees for simple tasks such as restaurant recommendations or bringing packages to her room.

[2] By this time, Sorokin was very active in the New York social scene; she attended dinner parties where she met Macaulay Culkin and Martin Shkreli.

[14] Sorokin later claimed that during the trip she snuck into a private party at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, where she met Bill Gates.

[15] Since Sorokin still refused to provide a credit card to the 11 Howard hotel, the entry code to her room was changed while she was in Omaha and her belongings were placed in storage.

[5] In May 2017, Sorokin invited Williams, Kacy Duke, and her videographer on what she said was an "all-expenses-paid" journey to Morocco, supposedly because she needed to "reset" her Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

Inspired by Khloé Kardashian, Sorokin booked a $7,000/night riad with three bedrooms, a private swimming pool, and a dedicated butler at La Mamounia, a 5-star luxury hotel in Marrakesh, with plans to make "a behind-the-scenes documentary" on the creation of her foundation.

She then attempted a similar scam at the W New York Downtown Hotel and Residences, failing to pay her $503.76 bill; she was evicted after two days and charged with theft of services.

To convince Sorokin to enter a more public venue where an arrest would be more easily effected, McCaffrey had Williams arrange a lunch meeting at a restaurant outside the facility.

On December 18, 2018, Sorokin appeared in New York City Criminal Court and rejected a plea deal that offered three to nine years in prison.

[2] Until the end of the trial, Sorokin was incarcerated at Rikers Island, where she had 13 infractions for misbehavior such as fighting and disobeying orders, and was placed in solitary confinement during Christmas.

[25][26] At trial, Sorokin's lawyer defended her by saying that her intent all along was to repay her debts and that she received services in exchange for publicity on Instagram.

"[16] On May 9, 2019, she was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison, fined $24,000, and ordered to pay restitution of $199,000, including $100,000 to City National, $70,000 to Citibank, and approximately two-thirds of the amount owed to Blade.

[3][38] An immigration judge ruled that if Sorokin were freed, she "would have the ability and inclination to continue to commit fraudulent and dishonest acts".

[45][46] But the New York Attorney General's office sued Sorokin in 2019 using the state's Son of Sam law, which prohibits those convicted of a crime from profiting from its publicity, and forced the majority of these funds to be used for restitution and fines per the judgment.

Williams received $300,000 for the book, in which she details her experiences with Sorokin, including how the trip to Marrakesh affected her financially and mentally.

[55] In the 2020 American television series Katy Keene, the character of Pepper Smith, played by Julia Chan, is loosely based on Sorokin.

[56][57][58] In late July and early August 2021, Anna X, a stage play inspired by Sorokin's story by Joseph Charlton starring Emma Corrin and Nabhaan Rizwan ran at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London and The Lowry in Salford.

[68] It was co-curated by Alfredo Martinez, who had been to prison for forging Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings, and Julia Morrison, who fronted $8,000 of her own money to fund the show but was never repaid despite Sorokin's promise to do so.

[64][66][69] One of the pieces, Send Bitcoin, features a seated Sorokin wearing a red dress while working on a computer and facing away from the viewer.

[72] The show opened with Kanye West's song "Flashing Lights", followed by drag queen Yuhua Hamasaki hyping up the crowd.

[73] Models walked through the room holding Sorokin's drawings in gold-plated frames and wearing white gloves, Versace sunglasses, and black stockings covering their heads and faces.